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Fine Scottish knitwear from Scott & Charters

Friday, August 27th, 2021

A very welcome addition to my wardrobe this year is this fabulous pure cashmere cardigan from Scott & Charters.

Unless you really know your knitters based in Hawick, Scotland’s “cashmere capital”, you probably will not have heard of the firm, but it has been based in the Borders town since 1955. Although it has had its own brand for most of its history, it’s mainly been a manufacturer for other brands and retailers worldwide.

Happily, the name itself is to be promoted again. In 2020 the business was acquired by Ayr-based scarf specialist Alex Begg whose products are among my favourite Made-in-Scotland pieces. Great potential is seen for Scott & Charters and its team of skilled people as an authentic top-end specialist Scottish knitter. I agree with that assessment.

I received my super cardigan for helping out Scott & Charters with some editorial work for its website and press information. Sometimes it’s called the Yacht Cardigan, but officially it’s Style No CH03212, described as a “men’s 5N (five needle) cashmere full cardigan stitch shawl collar cardigan”.

For the technically-minded reader, it’s made on a 5 Needle Shima Seiki knitting machine using 4 ends of 2/28 Nm 100% Cashmere from Scottish spinner Todd & Duncan

Knitted seamless on the Shima Seiki machine, the cardigan is made on a saddle shoulder shape, which fits really well. It closes with 32 & 24L horn buttons. Containing about 2lbs (1kg) of pure cashmere yarn in the College Red shade, it is a truly luxurious garment. Fine Scottish Knitwear indeed.

 

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The Modern Shetland Sweater by Skippers Mill

Wednesday, August 18th, 2021

Autumn is not that far away. If you are in the market for a great-looking sweater Made in Scotland by experts, check out The Modern Shetland series from new brand Skippers Mill

Made in Annan in Dumfries & Galloway, the sweaters are 100% wool, so they are soft, warm and light. Knitted on advanced Japanese machines using 100% renewable electricity, they are seamless and waste-free.

In five sizes from XS to XL, the sweaters are in one style only, with a refined saddle shape that echoes the human shoulder and fits like a glove. The branding is very appealing too.

Although there is only one style, there are 31 superb colours to choose from – one for every day of even the longest months.

I was thrilled to be given my Skippers Mill Modern Shetland in the Goldcrest shade. They are so well-priced at just £89. Highly recommended by me!

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Leeds Then And Now evolves

Monday, August 9th, 2021

It is scarcely two years since my book about the buildings of my home city, Leeds Then And Now was published by Pavilion but Leeds city centre is continuing to develop and evolve.

Just on the left of this 1928 image of Kirkgate is the department store Matthias Robinson, which was opened in Leeds in 1914. The Hartlepool-based business built a new store with Art Deco details on the site in 1936. The store is seen here in 1968.

Matthias Robinson was acquired by Debenhams in 1962 and the store was renamed Debenhams in 1972. Last year Debenhams collapsed and the Leeds store, seen here in 2019 in a photo by David North, was closed along with all the rest.

Permission has now been given to convert the building into student accommodation. Some retailing units may be retained on the ground floor. Let’s hope the lovely details of the 1928 building are maintained and protected.

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Celebrating Sportswear International

Wednesday, August 4th, 2021

Since last December on my Instagram account @musgraveeric I regularly have been highlighting the brilliant magazine Sportswear International, which flourished from 1975 until spring 2021.

This was the first IG post https://www.instagram.com/p/CIRWUshLi-W/

As a freelance writer, I was UK correspondent for SI from 1987, then from 1994 I worked in the magazine’s head office in Milan for about 18 months as deputy editor (although my title was managing editor).

Covering almost a decade, this was an exciting period for the fashion biz.

Sportswear International had been founded as Jean Intern in Germany in August 1975 by Peter Schindler, who created what became the No 1 trade title for the jeans, casualwear and young fashion sectors. Originally publishing only in German, he hit on the idea of giving SI international appeal by producing an identical edition with the same images but with the text in English.

The Sportswear sub-brand – used in the American sense to mean casualwear – was introduced in 1978. By 1983 the magazine was known as Sportswear International. By the time I joined the excellent team, which by then had its head office in Milan, the magazine’s reputation was rock solid. By 1987 the frequency followed the fashion trade fair calendar, so we had three issues in the spring (Jan, Feb and March) and three in the autumn (July, August and September). They were sizable productions – heading for 200 pages was not uncommon.

The original large almost-A3 format (which was slightly reduced in later years) and the high-quality paper and excellent production values meant the publication was brilliant for impactive fashion shoots. Skilled photographers and stylists loved working for Sportswear.

Equally importantly, the large format and SI’s position as THE authority in the denim jeans market, the young fashion market and, from the late 1980s onwards the new Fashion Sport sector, made it a very popular and effective choice as an advertising vehicle for big brands in the market. The impact of editorial and advertising made this a visual feast.

Working for Sportswear was one of the highlights of my career as I was allowed to interview and feature anyone who I thought would be of interest to our readership. A significant part of my time was spent visiting interesting retailers around the UK, with special emphasis on innovative independents. Occasionally I would also cover a major new developments for a big brand, such as the Emporio Armani store in Knighstbridge, London.

Peter Schindler sold SI to the German trade publishing house Deutscher Fachverlag (dfv) in 1994. I have featured lots of pages from Sportswear International on my @musgraveeric Instagram feed since December 2020 but when I started the sequence I had no idea that dfv planned to close Sportswear International in spring 2021 and replace it with a new publication called The Spin Off, which has as its focus sustainable fashion.

I was pleased to see SPortswear INternational referenced in the word Spin.

Good luck to all involved in The Spin Off. I hope you have as much fun on it as I had on Sportswear international.

 

 

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