The islands of the Outer Hebrides off the north west coast of Scotland have, for more than a century, been home to one of Britain’s oldest brands, Harris Tweed. The most iconic of fabrics, tweed once hung in every wardrobe and is the nearest thing the British have to national dress. It is ancient and ethnic and was worn by the pioneers of empire to rule India, excavate Egypt and climb Everest, but with the rise of ‘technical’ fabrics, cheaper imported garments and throw away culture all that ended. If ever there was a time when we needed to wrap ourselves in this beautiful, sustainable, ethnic British cloth, it’s now.
From time immemorial, the islanders of Lewis, Harris, Uist and Barra have woven the magical cloth the world knows as Harris Tweed, An Clo Mor in the original Gaelic, entirely by hand. Between 1903 and 1906 the tweed making industry in Lewis increased rapidly. The carding mill in Stornoway added spinning machinery and a second mill was started by Mr Kenneth Mackenzie from whom one of the largest Harris Tweed producing companies in existence takes its name today. The ‘Orb’ Certification Mark was granted in 1909, registered in 1910 and stamping began in 1911. The authenticated stamped yardage increased tenfold and continued to increase until a peak figure of 7.6 million yards was reached in 1966. The Harris Tweed Authority took over from the Harris Tweed Association in 1993 by an Act of Parliament and the definition of Harris Tweed became statutory and forever tied the cloth to the Islands.
Described as “the Champagne of fabrics”, 2011 marks 100 years since the first Harris Tweed Orb was stamped on the first yard of Harris Tweed and an industry baptised.
