WHO ARE SCOTLAND’S FASHION 50?

Amanda Davies founded Honey Pop Kisses in 2012, a fashion and beauty blog packed with verve. The Glasgow-based blogger – known for her candy-floss pink hair and love of tattoos – puts an emphasis on homegrown design talent and cruelty-free beauty alongside a mix of style, high-street trends and travel adventures. (SS) Siobhan Mackenzie is one of Scotland’s most exciting young designers creating contemporary kilts for men and women. Her reinvention of the classic kilt has caught the attention of celebrities including Justin Bieber, who wore one at his SSE Hydro show last year. Named Best New Scottish Designer 2016 at the Scottish Variety Awards, her future is bright. (SE) Jenivieve Berlin millinery is recognised as Scotland’s rebel of traditional head pieces. Originally designing pieces for dancers, the Scot jetted into fashion in 2011 creating bold millinery inspired by the edgy style of Berlin. We think Lady Gaga is the perfect candidate to sport one of her pieces. (SE) Rome-born Silvia Pellegrino fell in love with Scotland on a holiday when she was 20. In 2009, she made Glasgow her home and a year later set up Chouchou Couture from a small studio in the city’s Hidden Lane. Her trademark luxury hoods – or Hollyhoods as Pellegrino has dubbed them – have graced the pages of Vogue, appeared at New York’s Tartan Week and been exhibited at the Scottish Parliament. Pellegrino, who splits her time between Glasgow and Barcelona, strives to use Scottish fabrics including tartan, tweeds and lace. Projects include designing bags for the Glasgow Style Mile and creating a pink tartan “Sisterhood” with proceeds to charity Womankind Worldwide. (SS) In the world of knitwear, Rosie Sugden is one of the rising stars. Specialising in cashmere knitwear accessories, the eponymous label has created collections for Anthropologie, Liberty, Harrods and Net-a-Porter. Following a trip to New York this year, she teased that she has more exciting things to come. Watch this space. (SE) Former film producer Catherine Aitken creates accessories in heritage cloth such as Harris tweed, waxed cotton and linens, and is expanding into chic movie-inspired printed textiles. Edinburgh-based Aitken, 55, found her path into fashion after designing a Katharine Hepburn-inspired bag to promote a film at Cannes. She has created collections for Judy Murray at Cromlix Hotel and the National Galleries of Scotland Titian exhibition. Aitken was one of 20 designers chosen by Craft Scotland to exhibit her work at the American Craft Show in Baltimore last month. (SS) Isolated Heroes – launched by Dundee’s Samantha Paton in 2012 – has become synonymous with sequins, sass and style icons such as Miley Cyrus and Paloma Faith. Her signature style of hand-embellished detail, oversized silhouettes and vivid colour palettes is interwoven with wider themes of empowerment, inclusiveness and a celebration of body positivity. Paton’s designs deftly break the mould by being available to a size 24. (SS) There’s always room for a Strathberry handbag in a woman’s wardrobe. The luxurious Edinburgh brand offers minimalistic handbags produced by the finest artisans using the highest-quality materials. Each handbag features clean lines and a unique bar closure. With various colours and styles, Strathberry likes to spoil customers for choice –we’ll take five. (SE) Sleekit is one of the brands of the moment. Founded by Scottish designer Iain McDonald, the brand creates wearable pieces of art with bright and bold designs. One to watch, McDonald recently created prints for Topshop which will feature in their summer range. Familiarise yourself with Sleekit because big things are predicted for Sleekit. (SE) Friends Tom Welsh, Marty Bell and Kris Reid came up with the idea for Tens on a road trip in the Highlands in 2012. Their nifty sunglasses design contains in-built, Instagram-style sepia-tinted lenses which endeavour to “make your day look 10 times better”. The Glasgow-based firm secured investment from Sir Richard Branson last year. The billionaire tycoon discovered the brand when a friend lent him a pair at his Necker Island retreat. (SS) Dynamic duo Kirsty Halliday and Stuart Truesdale are the faces behind Glasgow’s diverse fashion agency I’ll Be Your Mirror. Coming from a background in luxury fashion, including being mentored by influential photographer Nick Knight, the pair offer styling, art direction and creative project production services. Their work has already been featured internationally in titles such as i-D and Hunger. We’d trust them to be our mirror any day. (SE) Glasgow-born designer Ronnie McDonald is ruling the roost as head designer at fashionforward label Tiger of Sweden, where he has worked for almost a decade. Arguably his most iconic design for the brand is the Tiger Tartan which featured in 100 jackets, 100 scarves and a few kilts. The Scot appears to be doing an excellent job representing national talent in international territory. (SE) Edinburgh College of Art graduate Rachael Eustace has turned heads from early in her career including being shortlisted as Scottish Fashion Awards graduate of the year and being a finalist in design competitions for Warehouse, Whistles and Mackintosh. In 2009, she and her father David – a photographer who has shot pictures of Sir Paul McCartney, Sophia Loren and Ewan McGregor – were commissioned by Anthropologie to document a 3,000-mile road trip from Los Angeles, California to Eustace, Texas. The 24-year-old is working as a design assistant in menswear at H&M at the firm’s headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden. (SS)