Kilt company celebrates 150 years

Kilt specialist Kinloch Anderson’s 150th anniversary celebrations began in Edinburgh this summer then move to Tokyo for an exhibition opening on 1 December.

Founded in 1868, the independent company is now managed by the fifth and sixth generations of the family. Most of the kilts, tartan and accessories can be bought from the shop in Leith, where there is a large heritage room, showroom and factory; there is also a fitting service at the Caledonian Club, London.

To mark the anniversary the Kinloch Anderson sundial, given to Edinburgh by councillor W Joseph Kinloch Anderson in 1890, has been restored.

Now the company will be taking over a floor of the Wako store in Ginza, Tokyo to share its history with its customers in the Far East, where it has built up “a significant business” in non-highland men’s and womenswear.

In Britain, the kilt maker has three Royal Warrants of Appointments as tailors to HM The Queen, HRH The Duke of Edinburgh and HRH The Prince of Wales. It also holds the Royal Family’s Balmoral tartan, designed by Prince Albert for HM Queen Victoria in 1857.