Fabric Moment

Our most recent assignment was a "Fabric Moment" in the style of Colin McDowell. We had 200 words to write about a fabric of our choice. I originally thought of velvet but after hearing that at least 2 other people were doing it, decided I wanted to be a bit different. I couldn't think of an obscure fabric that no one else would pick so I emailed my fashion design tutor from last year. She came back to me with a couple of really interesting fabrics - coconut fabric which is quite a new development, bamboo fabric which is an enviromentally friendly alternative to cotton and Harris Tweed - my choice.

I've posted a photo of the layout below but since you can't read the text, I've pasted that as well.



Harris Tweed by Georgina Anderson

Harris Tweed is a luxury fabric, hand woven by the islanders on the Isles of the Outer Hebrides in Scotland using only local wool. The original name was tweel, Scottish for twill but the modern name came about almost by chance. In 1830, a London merchant was sent a letter from Hawick in Scotland about some tweels. The merchant misread the handwriting and understood it to be a name taken from the river Tweed which flows through the Scottish border. Subsequently the cloth was advertised and the name stuck.

During the potato famine of 1846, the Countess of Dunmore was key in the promotion of Harris Tweed. Recognising the potential, she had the family tartan copied in Harris Tweed. Proving a success, Lady Dunmore sought to modernise and perfect the production process. By the late 1840s, a London market was established which led to an increase in sales. When all other Tweed manufacturers turned to mechanical methods, the Outer Hebrides retained their traditional, hand woven methods. Production increased until 1966 when the textile industry in Europe started to decline.

However, members of the British royal family have worn Harris Tweed for generations and in 1987, Vivienne Westwood took this inspiration and created her Autumn/Winter collection using Harris Tweed. This once again accelerated the popularity of Harris Tweed and it’s still widely used today by designers such as Marc Jacobs and Thomas Pink.


Maria