Tweed’s youthful makeover resurrects image of Scottish heritage

“While you see tweed on the runway, you do not count on it to come back from right here,” joked 38-year-old former banker Alexander MacLeod as he arrange his loom in a transformed barn on the shores of a Scottish loch.

MacLeod turned a weaver two years in the past, becoming a member of residents on the islands of Lewis and Harris, off Scotland’s northwest coast, in serving to to rejuvenate the tweed business after a big interval of decline.

“It is a good factor to maintain the custom going,” he advised AFP.

Tweed is an emblem of Scottish heritage and has “at all times been a part of the tradition” on the Outer Hebrides, added MacLeod, who hails from the island of Scalpay, which is linked to Harris by a bridge.

It is now “a horny sector to be in”, he stated.

He left the Hebrides for seven years to work in banking however the pull of his roots proved too sturdy.

In the course of the day, McLeod now works for a small native cosmetics firm. Within the evenings, he places on a podcast, normally about espionage, and patiently begins to weave.

Solely the regular hum of his machine disturbs the calm of the outdated stone barn.

Harris tweed, historically made out of 100% wool, is the one cloth protected by a 1993 Act of Parliament.

It have to be “handwoven by the islanders at their houses within the Outer Hebrides, completed within the Outer Hebrides, and made out of pure virgin wool dyed and spun within the Outer Hebrides”.

The weaver spoke of his “satisfaction” as soon as the tweed is completed.

The material, as soon as related to the British aristocracy, then goes to the spinning mill for a high quality management examine, the place the slightest flaw is flagged up.

Lastly, it receives the dear “Harris Tweed” stamp — a globe topped with a cross — certifying the material’s provenance and authenticity, issued by the Harris Tweed Authority (HTA).

The tweed then leaves the island to be bought by discerning firms overseas, together with luxurious manufacturers similar to Christian Dior, Chanel, and Gucci.

A number of sneaker manufacturers similar to Nike, New Steadiness, and Converse have additionally used it for restricted version merchandise.

The standard staples are jackets, caps, and luggage, however the cloth will also be used for furnishings.

There are 140 weavers, in accordance with the HTA, which launched a recruitment marketing campaign in 2023 and supplied workshops to be taught the commerce following a wave of retirements.

This know-how, usually handed down from era to era, is now being nurtured by a unique profile of weaver.

“It is good to see youthful folks coming in,” stated Kelly MacDonald, director of operations on the HTA.

“Once I joined the business 22 years in the past, there was a extreme interval of decline. I used to be questioning: ‘Is there going to be an business anymore?'”

However the business is now having fun with a “resurgence” and “vital development”, with greater than 580,000 metres of tweed produced in 2024.

“We’re at all times new markets,” she stated, and tweed is now exported to Korea, Japan, Germany, France and different international locations.

It’s now not depending on the US market, because it as soon as was, and ought to be largely shielded from the tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump.

Tweed has “modernised”, stated Cameron MacArthur, who works at Carloway Mill, one of many three spinning mills within the west of the Isle of Lewis.

He’s solely 29, however has already labored there for 12 years.

The mill, with its giant machines, seems as if it hasn’t modified for many years. However MacArthur has seen it evolve to embrace a youthful workforce and newer materials, which means it’s now not simply the ultra-classic Prince of Wales examine or darkish colors which can be on supply.

“These days, we’re allowed to make up our personal colors… and we’re simply doing various things with it, modernising it, making it brighter,” he stated, displaying off rolls of turquoise blue and fuchsia pink.

“We’re so busy… it by no means was like that,” he stated, including that he was “proud” to be working with the native product.

MacDonald stated tweed was an antidote to environmentally unfriendly “quick style”.

“How good to personal a product the place you may truly look on a map to a tiny island and say, ‘That is the place my jacket was made.’ That is so uncommon now, and I believe folks actually engaged with that,” he stated.

“Each stage of the manufacturing has to occur right here, however from begin to end, it’s a actually lengthy course of. We’re the epitome of gradual style.”