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Harris Tweed®, a Luxury Symbol

Harris Tweed®, a Luxury Symbol

Leave a Comment / Made to Measure, Menswear Canberra

Harris Tweed® is one of the world’s most exclusive fabrics, a symbol of sophistication and luxury. The ultra-high quality, hand made fabrics produced by Harris Tweed can add a touch of elegance to whatever you’re wearing.Also known as Clo Mor (Gaelic for ‘The Big Cloth’), Harris Tweed is a cloth of exquisite beauty and craftsmanship, protected by its own act of Parliament. It is made from the finest Scottish Cheviot wool, a remarkable textile in its own right.

What is Harris Tweed?

Harris Tweed, a luxury cloth fabric made on remote islands in Scotland’s Outer Hebrides, is exported to over 50 countries. The cloth is a symbol of luxury, worn around the globe by society’s most elite and discerning.

It is sold in markets throughout the world, including Europe, North America, the Far East, as well as in the emerging nations that led to its worldwide appeal.

The breadth of Harris Tweed’s appeal is endless, from traditional men’s jackets to cutting-edge catwalk couture. From stylish street shoes to five-star interiors, and even bespoke suits. It is shipped to fashion houses all over the world, as well as independent designers, small clothing labels and master tailors like Rodger Bartholomew here in Canberra.

What makes Harris Tweed so special?

A tradition of workmanship and materials, coupled with unusually high-quality standards, ensure that Harris Tweed remains “the only fabric produced in commercial quantities by truly traditional methods anywhere in the world.”

https://www.harristweed.org/

The islanders of Lewis, Harris, Uist and Barra have been producing Harris Tweed entirely by hand for hundreds of years, and their work is renowned for its fineness. This gives Harris Tweed the most remarkable attribute – any cloth that carries the orb logo has been woven by hand in a weaver’s shed on the Isle of Harris.

Harris Tweed is often described as an object of beauty that must be seen with the naked eye to be truly appreciated. A magnifying glass reveals the rich array of colors in a single piece of tweed. Marvel at the wide range of colors at your fingertips.

The weavers blend and dye wool before spinning it into yarn, allowing them to introduce a multitude of colours into the cloth. As many as 12 colors can go into one Harris Tweed string, and there are almost 60 different shades in the spectrum. The cloth is woven from a broad range of carefully chosen, high-quality natural dyes, produced from the flowers, lichens and berries found in the Outer Hebrides.

From catwalk to silver screen, now streaming on Netflix

The distinctive and subtle quality of Harris Tweed has made it an in-demand fabric for fashion designers, A-listers and Hollywood too. The late Alexander McQueen, Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent and Vivienne Westwood have all used Harris Tweed in their collections. Iconic footwear brands and designers have also embraced the cloth.