Skall Studio is a mainstay on the Copenhagen Fashion Week schedule, best known for its billowing cotton prairie dresses, chic linen suits, and cozy woolen sweaters. Since its founding in 2014 by Danish sisters Julie and Marie Skall, the brand has worked exclusively with natural fibers. For the most part, that excludes animal fibers like leather and virgin cashmere. Wool has always been an exception. “We feel there are so many positive benefits to wool,” says Julie. “And you don’t need to kill the animal to use it — that would be a dealbreaker for us.”
But when the brand set out to set up the right wool supply chain, it struggled to find one that could live up to its standards around traceability, transparency, and animal welfare. “We explored everything from recycled wool to certified wool, but nothing was as transparent as we wanted. Often, the wool would come from New Zealand, then the yarn would be made in another country, and the final garment produced in a third country,” says Julie. “We wanted something more local.”
Skall Studio wants more brands to support local production, and form closer relationships with the supply chain.
Photo: Skall Studio
The sisters started looking closer to home, but found that Danish wool production had been gutted by outsourcing, leaving just two spinning mills and a handful of knitting factories in operation. They became passionate about keeping these skills alive. “Our original motivation was animal welfare and transparency, but when we started working with Danish wool, it became about protecting local production and keeping everything within Denmark,” Julie says. “The wool is from local sheep, raised organically, and the spinning and knitting happens in Denmark. That’s quite unique.”
The Skall sisters struck up a relationship with another family business: the spinning mill Hjelholt Uldspinderi, on the picturesque Danish island of Funen. The mill has been operating since 1878, and is now run by fourth-generation owners Conny Dagmar and Henrik Hjelholt. A significant portion of the wool it spins is sheared locally, from the company’s organic sheep farm, which has a flock of 800 sheep and counting.
Skall Studio co-founders Julie and Marie Skall, on Hjelholt Uldspinderi’s organic sheep farm.
Photo: Skall Studio
