Fashion royal, Count Paolo Zegna di Monterubello, president of the Ermenegildo Zegna Group, has given the Australian wool industry encouraging praise, saying that he is 'confident' the industry will phase out mulesing by 2010.
Whilst in Sydney for the 29th Ermenegildo Zegna Vellus Aureum International Trophy, Count Zegna spoke about the future of the industry.
"We respect the efforts of the growers to do the job properly. I think they respect what we have done for wool."
"I think that mulesing today whether we like it or not, is the best of the worst. Not to mules the animal would make most of them die in a terrible way."
"Zegna and the Italian industry has reminded AWI that we want to receive constant updates on where they are in this process. We are confident it will be solved."
As head of the world's largest producer of high-end menswear, Count Zegna also highlighted the importance of youth to the fibre's future.
“We need to talk their language, understand what excites them – it needs to mean something to them and be innovative and fashionable.”
No doubt Australian Merino wool will be taken to the youth market through shop windows everywhere under the Zegna label as the company continues its aggressive expansion campaign.
Zegna has recently opened stores in Sydney, Sao Paulo, Brazil, and its first flagship store in the US in New York.