The knits’ big thing as one of Scotland’s historic brands hits High Street
How iconic woolly jumper makers moved from the golf course to the catwalk as younger generation embraces £60bn sportswear craze
For generations, the iconic diamond pattern of Pringle knitwear has been ubiquitous on golf courses around the country.
But now the heritage brand is lending its look to help drive sales with younger fashion lovers.
This month saw the launch of high street retailer H&M’s first collaboration with Pringle of Scotland, bringing a modern aesthetic to the traditional knitwear brand, originally designed in the Scottish Borders more than 200 years ago.
With many items selling out within the first few days, the collection of Argyle and Jacquard-themed jumpers, dresses, hoodies, leggings, and even matching doggy sweaters, has brought Pringle back on to the world stage.
Katy Wallace, brand director at Pringle, said it’s due to the renewed interest in wearing sporty attire everyday, combined with a uniquely Scottish look.
“H&M approached us towards the end of 2018, and we were really excited,” said Katy.
“Although we have a long history of partnering with young upcoming British brands and working with department stores, in our 200-year history we’ve never done a collaboration of this size.
“We brought out lots of our archive and their designers had a look at our jumpers and pieces from our past. Their demographic is younger, but we have an incredible history and heritage.
“You don’t want to feel like you’re churning out the same thing – you want to be true to your heritage, but you’re also constantly looking for new ways to innovate and move forward.”
Athleisure – a global trend in which sporty clothing is worn to the office, school or social events – now has an estimated worth of more than £60 billion, and experts say the market is set to grow by 30% in the next year.
Katy said: “Sport has been a big part of Pringle history, right from the early days when we created knitwear for ladies on the golf course to dressing lots of cricket clubs. But now, the way sportswear is worn is so modern.
“Athleisure has become absolutely huge. I don’t know if it’s because more people are doing yoga and pilates, but now people are wearing athleisure as normal daywear.”
The H&M and Pringle collaboration is just the latest example of Scottish textiles, patterns and traditional manufacturing influencing the fashion industry. Designers such as Alexander McQueen and Vivienne Westwood have a long track record of using tartan in their collections, and even beauty brand Illamasqua released an Electro Tartan make-up range, inspired by earthy, autumnal tones.
While tartan, Argyle and other traditional patterns have a long history, they still manage to look modern, as Katy explained: “The use of colour is really beautiful. That’s what’s been so inspirational for so many fashion brands.
“Whether it’s all natural, earthy colours or real pops of brightness, there are so many ways you can work it – and it’s still really modern.”
Here, we speak to two fashion experts to discover how Scottish design has influenced designers from season to season.