Designing a Modern Scottish Tweed
Students at Heriot-Watt University were invited to respond to a design brief inspired by the rich heritage of British tweed. The concept looked to the colours of autumnal heathers, combining subtle checks and traditional influences with the opportunity to introduce brighter, bolder accents for a contemporary twist.The winning design was created by Alice Milivoyevich, whose carefully researched cloth combined its roots in traditional Scottish textile design with an unexpected modern detail: the subtle introduction of Lovat Mill’s Hi-Vis yarns. The finished tweed was woven by Lovat Mill as a limited-edition cloth, creating something that felt unmistakably Scottish while remaining perfectly at home on Savile Row.
From Savile Row to a Hand-Stitched Kilt
Once the winning tweed had been woven, The Kiltmakery was commissioned to transform the cloth into a traditional hand-stitched kilt for Jeremy Hackett himself. It was a wonderful meeting of Scottish textile heritage and traditional kiltmaking: a cloth conceived by a young textile designer in Edinburgh, woven by one of Scotland’s celebrated mills and finally hand-stitched into one of Scotland’s most recognisable garments.A traditional kilt requires a remarkable amount of cloth – typically around seven to nine yards – with much of the fabric carefully incorporated into the pleats at the back.
For this particular kilt, every stage of the making process allowed the character of Alice’s award-winning tweed to shine.
Celebrating Wool, Craft and Emerging Talent
Speaking about the project, Jeremy Hackett described his delight at being invited by the Campaign for Wool to create an outfit celebrating its tenth anniversary. Working alongside Heriot-Watt University, J.P. Hackett invited students to use their talents to develop an innovative tweed, with the winning cloth subsequently woven at Lovat Mill. A limited quantity was also made available at No. 14 Savile Row, where it could be personally tailored for clients.Stephen Rendle, Managing Director of Lovat Mill, also praised the strength of the students’ work. He highlighted Alice’s research and her clever use of Hi-Vis yarns as decorative accents, bringing a fresh twist to a pattern firmly rooted in Scottish textile tradition.
The project was also a celebration of the wealth of emerging textile talent coming from Heriot-Watt University and demonstrated how traditional Scottish skills can continue to evolve through new generations of designers.
Scottish Craftsmanship Meets Savile Row
Jeremy Hackett has long been associated with classic British menswear, and the J.P. Hackett townhouse at No. 14 Savile Row occupies a building once associated with legendary British couturier Sir Hardy Amies.Against that backdrop, the finished kilt represented something particularly special. From a student design competition in Edinburgh to the looms of Lovat Mill and the meticulous hand-stitching of The Kiltmakery, the project brought together young design talent, Scottish weaving, traditional kiltmaking and Savile Row tailoring. The result was more than simply a kilt. It was a celebration of wool, Scottish craftsmanship and the enduring ability of traditional textiles to inspire something new.
