The Woolmark brand has been reinvented to improve the global perception of Australian merino wool and launch the fabric as a "must have" on both the catwalk and the high street.
Woolmark's umbrella company Australian Wool Innovation (AWI) will spend more than $120 million over the next three years to position Australian merino as the world's new luxury item, following the increasing popularity of cashmere, it said today.
Two new identities and logos - Australian Merino for high fashion houses and Superior Merino for everyday consumers - will accompany the relaunch.
A billboard featuring in a scene of the new movie, How To Lose Friends And Alienate People, is designed to do just the opposite for Woolmark clothing.
By placing its products in the movie, which is due to hit Australian cinemas in October, AWI said it hoped to draw in a high-end female audience.
The relaunch also has given AWI a new logo which, like the Australian Merino logo, features a stylised symbol of a ram's head.
The Superior Merino logo draws on the company's traditional triangular logo, which AWI said would still be used in interior furnishing ranges.
AWI's chairman Brian van Rooyen said the relaunch of Woolmark sent a powerful message to customers, the industry and competitors.
"And that message is this: The Australian wool industry is alive and well," he told industry representatives and reporters in Sydney today.
"The Woolmark logo is about to convey that message to the entire world."
All brands deserve freshening up, he added, and Woolmark, which has been around since 1964, "is no exception".
"More than ever, it's the right brand at the right moment in time," said Mr Van Rooyen.
AWI chief executive Craig Welsh said the global swing to eco-friendly products brought fresh opportunities to Australian woolgrowers.
"Active and informed consumers are insisting on greater integrity and authenticity in the products we buy," said Welsh.
"Many people have forgotten just how amazing this fibre is."
Australian merino wool is a natural fibre, takes only a few years to decompose and is sustainable because merino sheep produce a new fleece every year, AWI says.
Models at today's launch attempted to challenge the traditional "chunky" perception of wool with light, silky dresses, and flexible and glamorous knits.
Through its partners, AWI hopes to roll out its new Woolmark branding to Europe and Asia later this year.
