'Miraculous' merino wool woos top designer
14/10/2010
“Keryn is a top design talent and we are thrilled to welcome her to Icebreaker,” said vice president of product, and creative director Rob Achten. “She will bring great energy and inspiration to our design team.”
Ms Francisco arrives at the New Zealand-based brand after spending the last six years in senior design positions at Nike. She was global design director for the women's training category there from 2008 until her move, and before that worked for four years as US design director of women's sportswear.
She said on taking up her new post: “My mission is to continue to raise consumer awareness about the miraculous qualities of merino in a modern, functional and stylish way. I want everyone’s personal experience with Icebreaker to be so intuitive and immediate that it shifts how they feel, and live, in performance apparel. They can look good and feel good on so many levels with Icebreaker. I passionately believe that the natural choice is the choice of the future.”
Ms Francisco went on to explain that the long tradition of using merino wool in clothing had also appealed to her. She said:
“Early in my career, I designed denim apparel. I loved the authenticity and heritage behind a simple garment that was born out of necessity and utility. It was about originality and quality that was cultivated over a century. Icebreaker is very similar. When I held a baby merino lamb in my arms on my first visit to a sheep station in New Zealand’s Southern Alps, I realised, ‘This is where my Icebreaker is born, not created in a lab.’ You simply can’t dismiss this fact. That was a turning point for me. With Icebreaker, I feel more connected to the earth and to my work than ever before.”
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