Once associated almost exclusively with the hunting, shooting and fishing set, tweed was originally made as hardy workwear for outside labourers to protect them from the harsh Scottish elements.

Fast forward hundreds of years of fashion incarnations and it is still the fabric of choice for many keen to signal their country leanings, and can be spied on international catwalks, designer handbags and home interiors.

The threads of tweed unfurl back to the early-18th century when the coarse cloth material traditionally woven from pure wool originated.

The name now synonymous with Scottish textiles was a result of a misread label on a shipment from Borders woollen manufacturers William Watson and Sons that read “tweel”, or Scottish word for twill, the diagonal line running through the fabric developed by weavers who wanted to create a denser cloth.

Originally tweed was crafted to clothe the outside workers such as farmers on remote islands who were faced with harsh weather conditions for much of the year.

The coarse and thick wool repelled water and acted as insulation against the elements, and soon became the uniform for farmers, groundsmen and ghillies across the country.
The Borders town of Hawick soon became the hub of the industry, making use of the famous Borders sheep which had been used for industry since the 12th century.

Powered by the waters of the rivers Tweed, Teviot, Ettrick, Gala and Jed, the Borders mills washed, spun and wove the wool. Due to the nature of its fabrication, each tweed garment created is unique with different breeds of sheep known to create specific styles of pattern.

In the early-19th century, many Scottish landowners were diversifying to increase incomes, and rented or sold their family seats to English nobleman or aristocrats keen to indulge their fondness for field sports.

Tweed, with its natural, earthy tones, soon became the essential outerwear for outdoor activities, particularly those that required camouflage from the beasts of the hills and glens that would end up adorning their dinner plates and walls.

Lord Lovat commissioned the Lovat Mixture as “a protective colour designed for use in the hills” in 1840 – it is still in use today. His particular instructions ordered that five colours and white were carded together to make a camouflage yarn ideal for stalking deer on Highland estates.

In 1848, Prince Albert purchased Balmoral Castle in Aberdeenshire and needed appropriate Highland wear in which to parade through his new domain.

As it would have been considered offensive for an English noble to wear the tartan of an existing clan, he commissioned the production of his own Balmoral tartan in grey and granite tones with hints of blue and red, and woven as tweed.

Soon other estate owners began to commission their own hardy tweed fabrics that would identify their tenants and workers, and the material became fashionable attire for the middle and upper classes.

Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay donned tweed to take on the first ascent of Mount Everest, so reliable it is in the face of even the harshest weather conditions found in the Himalayas.

More recently, tweed has found its place in the fashion industry, even inspiring enduring classics such as Coco Chanel’s couture jacket produced originally from Carlisle mill, Linton Tweed, in 1954.

Contemporary tweed specialist and tailoring brand Walker Slater has been at the forefront of the fabric’s fashion resurgence since 1989.

Paul Walker, co-founder, said: “At Walker Slater we use locally-sourced fabrics such as wool because it is one of the most sustainable textile fibres and has little damage on the environment as well as being biodegradable.

In the current days’ need of seeking sustainable fashion we offer clothing that our customers want to wear season after season, and since tweed is known as an environmentally friendly fabric, it is subsequently expected to pass the test of time.”

There are so many varieties of tweed, including Harris Tweed, a complex design where more than 1,400 individual threads are tied in by hand and underpinned by the Harris Tweed Act 1993 which stipulates that to be genuine, the tweed must be made from pure wool, handwoven at the home of the weaver in the Outer Hebrides, and then returned to the mill where it is authenticated by a stamper with the Orb trademark to protect the integrity of the product. The Harris Tweed Orb is the oldest British trademark in use, dating back for more than a century.

Heriot-Watt University School of Textiles and Design has collaborated with Harris Tweed Hebrides to develop new woven fabric to be used for interiors and fashion, introducing new design practices and technological innovation.

Professor Alison Harley, creative director at the School of Textiles and Design, said: “This project brings together two distinctive and well-established Scottish textile institutions to develop talent, creative thinking and innovative practice.

Thanks to our reputation in the global textile sector we’ve built up a track record of success in collaborations of this kind, developing creative talent, contributing to textile technology advancements and building the commercial potential of new products, so we’re very much looking forward to this opportunity to work with one of the world’s most iconic textile brands.”