A 5-Point Guide to Loving Knitwear

The summer has officially ended, and it's that time of year when we start thinking (and panicking) about how our winter wardrobes are going to work. This week is British Wool Week, and therefore the best time to think about brilliant wool fashion. For ease, we are suggesting a five-point guide of innovative ways to think about wool, and how to introduce it into one's life.

1. Knit Icons
Think about iconic knit heroes Elvis Presley, Steve McQueen and Jean Seburg who all look great in their cosy Aran jumpers. The cream garment takes its name from the Aran Islands off the west coast of Ireland, and is often known as a fisherman's jumper. They are distinguished by their use of complex textured stitch patterns, several of which are combined in the creation of a single garment.

2. Luxury Loungewear
As well as being warm and chic, knitwear also provides comfort. Following the success of its cashmere tracksuit last year, Whistles have reintroduced the design, alongside other cashmere capsule pieces this week. The Marta hoody (in grey or black, complete with jogging bottoms) comes with silver toggles, tips and a beautifully cut hood. The hood is a design feature tricky to get right – one doesn't want lots of fabric shrouding the face. The Whistles hoody is cut perfectly. Other brilliant knitted hood executors include Raf Simons for Jil Sander and Lanvin.

Whistles have provided a fantastiastic cashmere care guide, courtesy of their in-house technical team, explaining how to care for and wash your cashmere. Tips include using a specialised fine garment detergent, and, once dry, folding the garment in tissue paper.

3. Fashion Classics
There are countless knit classics in fashion history, but the winner surely must be Yves Saint Laurent's knitted wedding dress from 1965. A cocoon-shaped design with three satin bows. Other classics include Azzedine Alaïa's knitted sculpted dress, revisted season after season; Raf Simons' contrasting cable knit for Jil Sander A/W11; Louis Vuitton men's cat print knit for A/W13; and Sandra Backlund's striking knitted gown worn by Tilda Swinton in the S/S09 issue of AnOther Magazine.

4. LOLZ Knits
It's very important to remember that knitwear can be fun. Quite often, when we feel a little sad at AnOther HQ, we wish we owned a knitted bodysuit like that featured in the award-winning Mir detergent campaign. Or rode to work everyday on a knitted bicycle.

5. The Art of Knit
In the midst of Frieze, it only seems right to make reference to a few key examples of brilliant knit in art including Knitted Credit Cards by Dimitri Tsykalov and PHAT KNITS by Bauke Knottnerus.

Text by Laura Bradley