Scottish companies setting the trend in London

A group of leading Scottish manufacturing brands are collaborating with the crème of Scotland’s fashion designers to help build their international profile in high-end fashion markets.

The new collaborations are set to be presented at a special Scottish showcase at London Fashion Week next month, where companies and designers will be meeting with international fashion journalists, buyers and collectors.

The collaborations include 10 Scottish brands, such as Mackintosh, Lochcarron, Calzeat and Morton Young & Borland, working with 11 designers, including Deryck Walker, Aimee McWilliams, Chloe Patience, Graeme Armour and Lucinda Norreys, all of whom have connections with Scotland, either having been born or attended college here.

By capitalising on the designers’ cutting-edge reputation, the participating companies aim to build on their expertise in design and manufacturing, reinventing their classic image with innovative new collections. The collaborations are part of a drive to further boost the companies’ profile for luxury and directional products in key international markets in the US, Japan and Europe.

The collaborations have been supported by Scottish Enterprise’s textiles team, who are also co-ordinating the showcase event at London Fashion Week in February.

Kirsty Scott, head of the Scottish Textiles team at Scottish Enterprise, says: “In recent years, Scottish companies are increasingly investing in design and building an international brand presence.

“By enabling Scotland’s leading brands to work with some of the best design talent to come out of Scotland, these collaborations will provide a win-win for both designers and companies.

“The designers can draw on the companies years of experience of production and marketing while the companies will be able to benefit from the designers’ reputation within the high-end fashion industry. Together, they should provide winning collaborations that will promote the breadth of talent and expertise that exists in Scotland’s fashion and textiles industry and attract interest from buyers around the world.”

The new collaborations include luxury cloth specialists Holland and Sherry working with Glasgow-born designer Deryck Williams, who gained experience by working with fashion labels such as Boudicca, Robert-Carey Williams and Versace, before establishing his own London-based menswear label in 2004.

Lochcarron of Scotland will be featuring its latest designs by Niki Taylor, a former fashion student of the Scottish College of Textiles in Galashiels, who famously invented the “Stilli” design – a sock boot with in-built sole which transforms shoes into boots, and is stocked by a range of independent fashion boutiques.

David Ogilvie, managing director of Lochcarron of Scotland, says: “Lochcarron works with many established designers and encourages new collaborations. We are delighted to be working with Niki Taylor of Olanic and we view this as the beginning of a relationship with a key designer of the future and hope it will be a fruitful relationship for both companies.”