Wool Week: Sheep on the Row, a cycling suit & GQ photographs Grey Fox

A desultory drizzle added to the unusual sheep-farm atmosphere yesterday when The Campaign for Wool marked the start of Wool Week by showing Exmoor and Bowmont Merino sheep on Savile Row. After a launch breakfast, at which the sustainable nature of wool was emphasised, I had a wander round Savile Row, bumping into many old friends and enjoying the presentations on the street and some of the shops on the Row. 

One product exemplified for me the modern use of wool. Guy Hills of Dashing Tweeds, who, with designer Kirsty McDougall is updating tweed as a twenty-first century cloth, showed me a suit designed for cycling. Reflective threads in the cloth glow in direct light, an action-back and button straps to close the trouser hems were among the many features of this beautifully cut suit. Being wool, it sheds showers and doesn't get too smelly as the wearer works up a sweat spinning his bike across the city streets. The suit is worn in the pictures with some rather elegant shoes from Edward Green.

The day was superb; very English in that it combined eccentricity with world-leading technical manufacturing and exquisite tailoring skills. For more information on Wool Week and The Campaign for Wool click here.

I was lucky enough to be photographed by GQ's David Nyanzi for a feature on 'Superbly Suited Men in Savile Row', so here I am with the sheep in the background. See GQ for the full feature.

Image David Nyanzi for GQ

Johnstons of Elgin: the best of British manufacture since 1797

After visiting Johnstons of Elgin I came away fired up with the creativity and skills that go to make British manufacture. We're not good at appreciating the treasures made here in the UK, but if consumers had the opportunity to visit a factory like that in Elgin, they'd be buying British tomorrow.

Johnstons of Elgin - the site of their original factory from 1797 - all images Grey Fox

For over 200 years Johnstons have been weaving wool on the banks of the River Lossie in Elgin, making a variety of products, from cashmere and vicuña scarves to beautiful estate tweeds. Their knitwear is made much further south, in Hawick in the borders.

The wool store

Tucked away about seventy five minutes drive north west of Aberdeen, Elgin is in an area of Scotland that benefits from clean water, flowing rivers and soft lowland scenery. The features that brought mills to the area (water to clean wool and to power looms) also brought the great Speyside whisky distilleries; but unfortunately there wasn't time to visit both.

Dying the wool

The factory is a fascinating mix of tradition and technology as the wool is prepared from raw material to finished cloth. Many of the looms and carding and spinning machines contain parts that would have been recognisable in Victorian times, yet they work away alongside those using laser technology. Teasels are still used in the cashmere-weaving process to achieve a soft finish. Here it's a question of recognising what works and not changing for change's sake.

Spinning

Two parts of the visit stood out for me. Firstly, speaking to the design staff brought it home to me what high esteem Johnstons is held in internationally by the world of high fashion. Household names come to Johnstons to collaborate and to take advantage of their outstanding manufacturing and design skills.

Menswear from Johnstons of Elgin

Johnstons are understandably quiet about their contacts and collaborations, but their recent work with Burberry is a matter of public record and their involvement in developing the monogrammed poncho that rocked the catwalks for AW14 is well-known. To see British design and manufacture having such status on the world stage is gratifying to say the least

Weaving tweed

The second highlight for me was their archive. A room full of beautifully-bound books containing samples of tweeds and woollen fabrics from the nineteenth century. There to provide inspiration to modern designers, the collection is breathtaking in its range. I'd love to get in there and design a range of Grey Fox tweeds.

The factory shop is full of their products, tweeds, knits and home wear, gorgeous rugs and cushions. The tea shop rounds off a fascinating visit and leaves me full not only of cake, but of hope for the future of British manufacturing.

See Johnstons of Elgin for more information or to buy.

The people, without whom the looms would be silent

The archive

Nineteenth century tweeds in the archive

Wool School 2013 - woollen jumper design competition - video

I'm a great lover of woolly jumpers, so here's some good news.

The Campaign for Wool, of which His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales is a patron, has announced the return of WOOL SCHOOL for 2013. Margaret Howell, Topman, Christopher Raeburn, Folk, Barbour, Brora and Albam will work with fashion, textiles and design students across the country competing to design wool sweaters to be sold in stores nationwide in the Autumn to celebrate Wool Week 2013.

Designs for the Wool School competition 2013

The campaign received over 100 entries from each of the 12 collaborating universities with the retail outlets joining forces to select their winner. For the second year running the project sees students introduced to a retail partner and given the opportunity to design a wool jumper for their company keeping this year’s theme ‘knitwear traditions of the British Isles’ front of mind along with the retailer's brand identity. One student per retailer has been selected and their jumper design will be developed, manufactured and will be available in stores to coincide with UK Wool Week: 14th-20th October. 

The companies involved are largely menswear retailers, so we can expect some exciting designs to go on sale later this year.

The tweed tea party: Wool House, The Campaign for Wool

The Campaign for Wool's very successful Wool House ended with a tweed tea at which very tasty sandwiches, cakes, tea, wine and whisky were served.

Here are a few very tweedy photos.

  

Guy from Dashing Tweeds gave a dashing speech

Earl of Bedlam tweeds - I'll be saying more about this exciting newish company soon.

Tweeds and colour masterfully combined by Momtaz Begum-Hossain. The bag is Harris tweed.

More Earl of Bedlam

Tweedy guests - Nadia Head and her tweed animals and Momtaz Begum-Hossain

Nadia Head

Earl of Bedlam, detail

Earl of Bedlam and signature lining

A Harris tweed coat - maker unknown - if it's yours please let me know!

Merino wool - why is it ideal for fashion fabrics and tailoring?

While at Wool House last week I met Lesley Prior, Artisan Project Manager at The Campaign For Wool and owner of Devon Fine Fibres, where she produces English merino and cashmere wools. Lesley is obviously passionate about the properties of merino wool, among the finest and softest from any sheep breed. Lesley explained to me the properties which make merino ideal for fashion fabrics and tailoring.

Image Woolpower.se

Below you can see a small sample of wool from one of Lesley's sheep. As you can see from the photo, the fibres are naturally and very finely crimped, extremely soft and several times thinner than a human hair. The properties that make it ideal for luxury clothing include -

• It regulates body temperature very well by wicking moisture away from the skin and providing warmth without overheating the wearer.
• It absorbs water well, but remains warm.
• It contains lanolin which make it antibacterial and water resistant.
• Its structure helps it to trap air, making it an ideal insulator.
• It's very soft and elastic, so that, when woven in to a cloth, it has good crease resistance.

Quite apart from these advantages, of course, it's a renewable resource. A sheep provides fleeces for many years without depleting scarce natural resources, as do many man made fibres. Merino wool is popular for everything from athletic base layers to high-end suits. One day I'll have a merino suit, I hope!

And here is a bespoke jacket made by Timothy Everest from a mix of merino, lambswool and cashmere.

Image Timothy Everest

Image Timothy Everest

Wool House at Somerset House

A few days ago I visited Wool House at Somerset House in London. Taking place from the 13th to the 24th of March and organised by The Campaign for Wool,  it's billed as the world’s biggest ever celebration of Wool. The 12 day showcase has been curated by renowned designer Arabella McNie. From interiors, and crafts, to the world of fashion, all aspects of our favourite natural fibre are explored. There are various events scheduled over the next week which are worthwhile checking out, including a tweed tea party and tailoring demonstrations by Henry Poole and Co.

Here are some of the photos I took. Naturally I was most interested in the men's and tailoring fashion exhibits, but the interior design and crafts showed the remarkable resilience and adaptability of this natural fabric, with glowing colours and fascinating textures everywhere. If you're in London, I suggest you visit.

Somerset House is itself fascinating, with a history going back to the 16th century. The beautiful neo-classical buildings once housed the Admiralty Board and various government departments. It now contains galleries showing many important works of art.

But it's these guys that Wool House is all about: