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Husky enthusiast warms to his new role in fashion
They're usually seen pulling sleds through the Arctic Circle but now their fur is set to glide across the catwalk.
A Dales clothing company is teaming up with an Arctic explorer to spin a brand new yarn – husky dog hair.
Isobel Davies, who runs Richmond-based clothing label Izzy Lane, is in negotiations with solo Arctic explorer, Gary Rolfe, to use hair brushed from his 15 dogs to make jackets and coats.
The knitwear firm is hoping the husky fur will take the fashion world by storm and help the Inuit communities in Greenland with a new source of income.
Ms Davies, 45, who founded Izzy Lane a year ago, said she hoped the material would take off as the new "ethical fur".
"I'm hoping to make jackets and outer wear," she said.
"These dogs have to endure the most extreme temperatures so their coats are extremely thick. I'm intrigued to see what it will weave into. I'm hoping to make something quite special."
Greenland dogs are amongst the world's rarest breeds. They were popular with early 20th century Antarctic explorers and pulled Roald Amundsen to the South Pole in 1911.
Now Gary Rolfe, 41, an English explorer and dog musher based in a remote area of east Greenland, hopes harvesting hair from his pure-bred dog will revive interest in the breed.
He said the Greenland dog's dense double coat – which insulates it against the bitter Arctic weather – can grow 22cm thick and in the moulting season the fur from each animal can fill several bin bags.
"Over 500 dogs live here. That's a lot of hair," said Gary. "I'm looking to get the whole community involved."
Chiengora (dog hair) is used as a yarn in parts of North America and closely resembles angora.
But is the UK fashion industry ready for dog hair jackets?
Ms Davies admitted: "When he contacted me initially I felt a bit squeamish about it. But then I thought that's fantastic. There's no difference really from using sheep's wool. I just think it will be quite unique."
Izzy Lane will add the new range to its collection of organic knitwear woven out of wool from a rescued flock of Wensleydale and Shetland sheep. Ms Davies, who founded Farmaround – one of the UK's first organic box delivery schemes 14 years ago – is a committed vegetarian and set up the Richmond knitwear firm and sheep sanctuary as an economic alternative.
"I have always been confronted with the argument that sheep would not exist if we didn't eat them," she said. "Izzy Lane hopes to demonstrate an economic model whereby sheep can exist, be valued and have a place in our world without becoming meat."
She now hopes to pay the Greenland Inuit a good price for hair as an alternative to hunting.
Mr Rolfe said: "Since there was a worldwide drop in fur prices, communities have had to look at other ways to make money. Where I live is unique since it thrives on hunting seals, narwhal, polar bear and musk-ox. Life here is very different. It's brutal."
The explorer has travelled 11,000 miles through the frozen Arctic Circle with his sled dogs.
His pack of rare Canadian Eskimo dogs perished in March 2006 when his sled plunged through thin sea ice. Mr Rolfe managed to escape with fourth-degree frostbite.
Husky dogs naturally moult or "blow" their coats during the summer, but getting the fur shipped out of Greenland at all may prove the biggest challenge.
"If I bale this fur the earliest it will get out is September ,since we only get two boats in here a year," Mr Rolfe said. "One if we're unlucky."
Once in the UK, fur will go to spinners in Cornwall, who have already spun a sample. Now, the choice is between using the yarn as a fine fabric or as thicker wool for hand-knitting.
The resulting jackets will be very exclusive with price tags to match.
"It will be expensive," she said. "But we will probably blend it with Shetland wool which will make it go further. We love the concept so much that we'll make it work."
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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