Planet Earth Cardigan

Most cardigans are lazy. They’re designed to stay at home. On the couch. Doing as little as possible. But the Planet Earth Cardigan is built a little differently. We’ve taken all the good bits of a cardigan – the softness, the weight, and the comfort – then transformed it into a stripped-down, tailored piece of high performance engineering designed to travel the world.

The entire cardigan is engineered from an extra-fine Merino yarn developed in Italy by Zegna Baruffa – which is considered the Rolls-Royce of Merinos because it combines cashmere-like softness with a silk-like surface and long term structural stability. It’s so soft you can wear it next to your skin, but spun so tightly you still get that heavy cardigan feel. The fibres are worsted-spun to make them extremely smooth and strong – it’s a process where they’re combed until they sit almost perfectly parallel, then tightly twisted into a compact yarn. So this is not a cardigan that’s going to be hanging around your ankles in a year’s time.

It’s engineered to work as a high-performance outer layer on its own in warmer weather right next to your skin. Or you can wear it as an insulating midlayer if you’re layering up. It’s windproof, water repellent, breathable, ultrasoft, temperature-regulating, bacteria killing, elastic, and highly durable.

Traditionally cardigans are designed for bulk not structure. They’re thick but loose, and warm but unstable. And over time, it’s their weight that pulls them out of shape. Elbows grow, pockets drag and hems collapse. And as the structure slackens, they lose the warmth they were built for. If you want a heavy wool cardigan that stays warm, functional and in good shape for years, you don’t just need the perfect yarn, you need a different architecture – which is what we’ve done.

The Planet Earth Cardigan is designed to keep its shape and structure for years just like a jacket – not a few months like a normal cardigan. Instead of buttons, the cardigan closes with a one-way metal zip, integrated into a stabilised knitted placket so it sits flat. And the collar, cuffs and hem are built from structured 2×2 rib which is layered to grip and seal in warmth.

We experiment with some of the most advanced materials on Earth, but sometimes billions of years of evolution has done the job for you. Merino sheep are bred to survive scorching summers and freezing winters, so their fleece has evolved to help them stay cool in temperatures of over 30°C, while staying warm in -10°C. So when you wear Merino fibres they respond and adapt to the conditions you find yourself in – either trapping or releasing heat depending on the temperature and humidity of your skin.

The outside of every Merino fibre is covered in a natural wax coating which makes it water repellent. It can also absorb over 30% of its own weight in water and still feel dry, so you’ll stay warm and insulated. The Planet Earth Cardigan comes with an extra layer of protection. We use a renewably sourced, non-fluorinated water-repellent treatment that forms an invisible layer around each fibre. Water, as well as red wine, coffee and other liquid threats, simply bead up and roll off. Instead of coating the fabric, it simply increases the surface tension of the yarn itself so it can survive a lifetime of washes.

It’s not sweat that smells, or even the clothes themselves, it’s the build-up of bacteria on the surface of the clothes. Merino is naturally odour resistant – odour molecules are absorbed and locked into the centre of the fibre of the Merino so you simply can’t smell them. They’re then released when you wash the cardigan.