The Oro Blanco exhibition supports Spain’s wool sector

Oro Blanco exhibition: Contemporary design meets craft heritage in support of Spain’s endangered wool sector

For the Oro Blanco exhibition, textile designers Inés Sistiaga and Regina Dejiménez joined forces with Wool4Life to create a capsule collection and an architectural installation crafted from wool from different species of native Spanish sheep, some of which are at risk of extinction.

‘Oro Blanco’ installation – ©jorquera, courtesy of Madrid Design Festival.

‘Oro Blanco’ exhibition – ©jorquera, courtesy of Madrid Design Festival.

Design. Once known as Spain’s Oro Blanco (White Gold), wool represented an economic and cultural pillar connecting rural communities, artisans and designers. However, today, it faces a discouraging panorama: barely 1% of textile fibers globally are wool, and 90% of Spanish wool is wasted, generating economic losses. At Madrid Design Festival 2025, Amazon Spain presented an immersive installation and capsule collection that underscored how craft heritage, contemporary creativity, and a technological approach can contribute to revitalising the endangered wool industry in Spain.

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©jorquera.

The Oro Blanco project, on display at the ILE–Institución Libre de Enseñanza, featured the work of Ramón Cobo, founder of Wool4Life, and designers Inés Sistiaga and Regina Dejiménez. They have jointly developed a capsule collection of household products and an installation designed from Spanish wool. Set in a light-filled space, the showcase highlighted wool’s softness and purity, as well as its infinite shades of white.

©jorquera.

Inés Sistiaga explored new possibilities for the textile industry. She presented curtains with digital knit structures, offering opaque and translucent versions that enhance its natural thermal and acoustic properties. Her multitasking bags were born from experiments with different wool transformation processes.

Regina Dejiménez crafted an “artisanal sensorial architecture.” The installation cocoons and invites visitors to learn more about the current situation of the wool sector in Spain.

©jorquera.

The designers teamed up with Wool4Life, one of Spain’s few remaining family businesses dedicated entirely to the wool process for over 100 years. They worked with wool from the Guirra Sheep or Roja Levantina, the only native sheep species in the Valencian Community that is in danger of extinction.