Swanndri has been making clothes with one of nature’s most sustainable fibres for over 100 years. While the rest of the clothing industry catches up in rediscovering the miracle fibre, we have never stopped using wool ever since William Broome produced our first bush shirt in 1913.

Trusting the shirt on your back to keep you warm and dry in the harshest of weather conditions is what makes our products so popular. Who better to supply the raw material for our garments than sheep farmers from Central Otago who not only supply Swanndri, but also rely on us to keep them warm?

We caught up with the Reid brothers; Doug, Eddie and Willie.

Most people spend the two days before Christmas worrying about last-minute presents, but not William Broome. On December 23rd, 1913, he trademarked what's become New Zealand's most iconic outerwear brand.

Designed to keep you dry like a swan's plumage, Broome devised the name Swanndri. Perhaps it was a particularly rainy summer at his home in Taranaki, or perhaps Broome just had the foresight to know that Kiwi weather can turn in an instant. Either way, from day one, Swanndri was designed to keep rural New Zealanders comfortable no matter what the weather threw at them: from bitterly cold and wet winter mornings to hot, harsh summer afternoons.

People often ask us why the company wasn't named after the more famous bird known for keeping water off its back. Easy decision: "Swanndri" sounds better than "Duckdri".