Master Weave

By Hannah Norman

1 Year Ago

“ Harris Tweed is hand-woven by the islanders at their homes in the Outer Hebrides, finished in the Outer Hebrides and made from pure virgin wool dyed and spun in the Outer Hebrides.”

It is said that the cloth of a master craftsman is made not just from knowledge of his craft, passed down through the centuries to become a highly skilled art, but also from knowledge of how to get the best from his tools, which have oftentimes been in the same family for generations.

Despite the craftsman’s skill taking months to learn yet years to master, his skilled hands are able to manipulate the idiosyncrasies of his loom with ease, and the cloth that he produces is a result of patient labour, deep love, and an innate understanding of the tools and materials he uses.

There is perhaps no other material in the world that better encapsulates the embodiment of this skill, and the magic and romance of master craftsmanship than Harris Tweed. As the world’s only commercially produced hand-woven tweed, this stylish, versatile and – as history has ultimately proved – timeless cloth is desired by both lords and laymen alike, and has adorned not just backs, but bags, shoes and even interiors. The essence of the brand is the unique story it tells, and with famous fans of Harris Tweed including King Charles, the Princess of Wales and Madonna, it’s not hard to see why the appeal of this durable design staple continues to endure.

The beauty of the style and colour of the cloth is reminiscent of the remote islands in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland on which the material is made. Blazing blues are in similar shades to the surrounding azure seas, russet reds are reminiscent of the rooftops of the cottages that dot the hillsides, deep purples are a perfect match for the local heather, and gorgeous greens are great substitutes for the lush landscape. This abundance of natural influence is woven into the very fabric of every piece of Harris Tweed, reflecting the life and the land of its origin.

Such visceral and prominent ties to the land in which it is manufactured means Harris Tweed is protected in a similar way to Champagne, as it can only be made on the Scottish isles of Harris, Lewis, Uist and Barra. While its roots reach right back through the years, the capitals used for writing Harris Tweed are a fairly recent addition to its history, a bid by Harris Tweed’s statutory body (the Harris Tweed Authority) to better protect the story and status of this luxurious cloth.

Harris Tweed’s importance has even been enshrined in law, and it is subsequently now protected by its very own act of Parliament. Passed in 1993, the Harris Tweed Act ensures that Harris Tweed is “hand-woven by the islanders at their homes in the Outer Hebrides, finished in the Outer Hebrides and made from pure virgin wool dyed and spun in the Outer Hebrides.” The Act ensures the quality and authenticity of the cloth that carries the Harris Tweed name and bears the mark of the Harris Tweed Orb (the logo most usually found affixed to every finished Harris Tweed product). Every single part of the process, from start to finish, takes place on these islands, and every single person involved – every dyer, spinner, warper, weaver, inspector and more besides – makes the Outer Hebrides their home. Most of the wool used actually comes from mainland Scotland but at the beginning of every summer, the islanders still come together to round up and shear the local sheep. The whole process of making Harris Tweed is thus necessarily meticulous and invariably complex, but such methodical attention to detail at every stage of production and inspection maintains both the quality and the legacy of this world-famous cloth.

Most recently, in 2016, Harris Tweed was granted its own Coat of Arms by Lord Lyon, King of Arms. The Harris Tweed Orb is now officially recognised as being the industry’s coat of arms, not just imbuing the Harris Tweed name with the associated prestige, but also adding a further layer of protection to the industry against imitations. Indeed, these necessary protections have been required as the popularity of Harris Tweed has grown, due to copycats attempting to cash in by creating their own (inferior) counterfeits.

Away from the sad reality of duplication inflicting not just Harris Tweed as a cottage industry but also the fashion industry as a whole, perhaps the best indication of a material’s mettle is its recognition and appreciation by the fashion world at large. It’s therefore unsurprising that several of the more distinguished fashion houses have employed Harris Tweed in their collections. Vivienne Westwood’s groundbreaking AW87 collection, marking her break away from punk to employ a more polished and tailored look, saw her models take to the catwalk in Harris Tweed. Westwood would later comment that her inspiration came from a girl she saw once dressed in Harris Tweed, who impressed the designer completely with her cool composure and knack for knowing exactly how to pull off a tweed jacket. Westwood continued to use Harris Tweed in her collections, but she was by no means the only one to do so. Other designers to have embraced Harris Tweed and featured it in their collections include the late Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel, Margaret Howell, Paul Smith and the late, great Alexander McQueen.

It’s not just clothing designers with a love for Harris Tweed either. Nike and Manolo Blahnik have both used the material for footwear, showcasing the versatility and desirability and, one might argue – especially so in Nike’s case – the appeal to all ages, of this remarkable cloth.

A true testament of the legacy of Harris Tweed, however, is its transition into popular culture. As early as 1949, the film Whisky Galore! sees a group of Scottish islanders who have run out of whisky, determined to save the cache they uncover aboard a shipwreck, which featured characters in tweed, most likely Harris Tweed. A more modern representation is the popular Robert Langdon books by Dan Brown, immortalised in film with Tom Hanks in the leading role, which saw the symbologist hero described as wearing a Harris Tweed jacket, giving credence to his work as a university professor, and marking him as a man of distinction (and one with apparent good taste, to boot). Ben Affleck’s CIA agent Tony Mendez went a similar route in the 2012 film Argo, although the actor’s decision to don a Harris Tweed jacket was less to do with giving visual clues to his character and more because the real-life inspiration for Mendez revealed that Harris Tweed was almost something of a uniform for US spies during the Cold War.

But when exactly did the world’s love affair with Harris Tweed really start? For as long as time can tell, the islanders of the Outer Hebrides had been producing Harris Tweed to sell at the local markets and as a result, were well-known, albeit only locally, for the excellence of their weaving. All that changed in 1846, however, when the widow of the landowner of Harris, the Earl of Dunmore, decided to have the clan tartan replicated in Harris Tweed. She was so impressed by the pure quality of the finished product that she set about marketing Harris Tweed to her many wealthy friends. In turn, this led to widespread interest from parties from increasingly further afield, and by the turn of the century, Harris Tweed had become established as a highly sought-after tweed of choice.

However, one of the major downsides of success is imitation, and so it became clear that certain measures would need to be put in place in order to protect not just the Harris Tweed name, but also the quality of the goods and the reputation of the islanders. Following a meeting in Stornoway in 1906, it was decided that the islanders needed a system whereby their tweed could be inspected and, if it met up to the exacting standards expected, would be given a stamp of approval, by means of a trademark of authenticity. This mark – the Maltese cross with the words Harris Tweed written underneath – was granted in 1909, and first started to appear on finished goods in 1911. It is still seen on Harris Tweed products to this day.

With the rise and the rise of Harris Tweed’s popularity continuing throughout the 20th century, with royalty and gentry alike attracted to the beauty, versatility and durability of this unique cloth, supply needed to increase to meet demand. The parameters of the Harris Tweed trademark were subsequently changed to allow for the use of island millspun yarn, as well as handspun. This enabled an increase in production, while still accommodating the quality control measures put in place to ensure that Harris Tweed retained its reputation as the world-famous cloth it had become.

Today, Harris Tweed is exported to over 50 countries worldwide, to all four corners of the globe, and it all comes from the crofts and cottages of four small islands set on the edge of the world on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean. It is a truly remarkable journey through the ages of history – from dyeing to delivery, from croft to catwalk – all made by hand before it has even made it into your hands. The history of Harris Tweed continues, and it is a story that is by far a long way from being finished – and thank the Hebrides for that!