Harris Tweed

Harris Tweed (Clò Mór or Clò na Hearadh in Gaelic), is a luxury cloth that has been handwoven by the islanders on the Isles of Harris, Lewis, Uist and Barra in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland, using local wool.

Traditional Harris Tweed was characterized by subtle flecks of color achieved through the use of vegetable dyes, including the lichen dyes called "crottle" (Parmelia saxatilis and Parmelia omphalodes which give deep red- or purple-brown and rusty orange respectively). These lichens are the origin of the distinctive scent of older Harris Tweed.

Production

The original name of the cloth was tweel, the Scots for twill, the cloth being woven in a twilled rather than a plain pattern. A traditional story has the current name coming about almost by chance. About 1830, a London merchant received a letter from a Hawick firm about some tweels. The London merchant misinterpreted the handwriting understanding it to be a trade-name taken from the name of the river Tweed which flows through the Scottish Borders textile areas, subsequently the goods were advertised as Tweed, the name has remained so ever since.

With the initiation of the industrial revolution the Scottish mainland turned to mechanisation, but the Outer Hebrides retained their traditional processes of manufacturing cloth. Until the middle of the 19th century the cloth was only produced for personal use within the local market. It was not until between 1903 and 1906 that the tweed-making industry in Lewis significantly expanded. Production increased until the peak figure of 7.6 million yards was reached in 1966. However, the Harris Tweed industry declined along with the textile industries in the rest of Europe. Harris Tweed has survived both because of its distinctive quality and the fact that it is protected by its own Act of Parliament which means that it cannot be made anywhere other than the Outer Hebrides of Scotland if it is going to carry the Orb trade mark.

One high profile promotional success of Harris Tweed in recent years has been their use on several Nike trainer models including the Terminator, Blazer, and Air Force 1. Currently, around 95 per cent of Harris Tweed production is based at the mill in Shawbost, Isle of Lewis, run by Harris Tweed Hebrides, a company founded in 2007, who have had major successes in extending the appeal of this "champagne of fabrics". The company exports to more than 40 countries and supplies designers like Alexander MacQueen, Calvein Klein and Ralph Lauren. While Harris Tweed has been mainly a fashion fabric in recent years, Harris Tweed Hebrides has broken new ground by supplying most of the interiors fabrics for Glasgow's first five-star hotel, Blythswood Square, said to be the biggest interiors project since Harris Tweed was used in the fitting out of the QE2 in the 1960s. The company has picked up two major honours - Textile Brand of the Year for 2009 at the Scottish Fashion Awards and premier award for Outstanding Style Achievement at the Scottish Style Awards, reflecting a renaissance of interest in the fabric and its use by cutting-edge designers.

Every length of cloth produced is stamped with the official Orb symbol, trademarked by the Harris Tweed Association in 1909, when Harris Tweed was defined as "hand-spun, hand-woven and dyed by the crofters and cottars in the Outer Hebrides".

Machine-spinning and vat dyeing have since replaced hand methods, and only weaving is now conducted in the home, under the governance of the Harris Tweed Authority, established by an Act of Parliament in 1993. Harris Tweed is now defined as "hand woven by the islanders at their homes in the Outer Hebrides, finished in the islands of Harris, Lewis, North Uist, Benbecula, South Uist and Barra and their several purtenances (The Outer Hebrides) and made from pure virgin wool dyed and spun in the Outer Hebrides."

Contemporary expansion

In 2004 the American company Nike used the fabric to produce limited edition runs of retro trainers originally released in the 1980s. They ordered 10,000 metres of cloth from mills on the Isle of Harris, using a design by Donald John Mackay, who lives and works in Luskentyre on the island. They have since used the fabric in other designs of shoe. Another company using Harris Tweed in their products is "The Healthy Back Bag Company" who launched a range of bags in August 2007 [http://www.thehealthybackbag.co.uk/epages/healthyback.storefront/4823328c00527596273fc0a8950f06a8/UserTemplate/HarrisTweed ].

In December 2006 a Yorkshire businessman, Brian Haggas, bought Kenneth Mackenzie Ltd (KM Group) in Stornoway which by then accounted for abour 95 per cent of Harris Tweed production. Textiles entrepreneur Brian Haggas, 75, who owns textile firm the John Haggas Group, also bought Parkend, a small tweed mill on the outskirts of Stornoway and closed it down. Haggas then reduced all the 8000 Harris Tweed designs down to four, refused to sell to any one else and started producing exclusively for his own garment production. This proved, as widely predicted, a disastrous strategy with 75,000 of Haggas jackets now stockpiled and no need for him to produce more tweed. However the Haggas strategy created the opportunity for a new company - Harris Tweed Hebrides - which was formed in December 2007 to acquire the closed mill at Shawbost on the Isle of Lewis. After extensive renovation and investment, it has now started to supply many of the customers who were cut off from Harris Tweed by the Haggas takeover. Harris Tweed Hebrides is chaired by former UK government minister Brian Wilson and the main investor is his friend Ian Taylor, president of oil trader Vitol. Harris Tweed Hebrides along with Harris Tweed Textiles based in Carloway on the Isle of Lewis are now the only producers of the fabric. In May 2008, Haggas announced the redundancy of 36 millworkers in Stornoway.

The fictional character Robert Langdon, from the novels The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons, wears Harris Tweed, as does the fictional detective Miss Marple , the eleventh portrayal of the fictional Doctor from the television series Doctor Who, and Glasgow University Rugby Football Club. Jasper Fforde also uses a fictional character named Harris Tweed in his Thursday Next series, most notably in Lost in a Good Book and The Well of Lost Plots.

British fashion designer Vivienne Westwood is a fan of Harris Tweed - her brand logo is very similar to Harris Tweed's logo.The Harris Tweed Authority pursued a long-running legal case to stop her using the Orb trade mark but Westwood won by being able to point to three minor differences between her logo and Harris Tweed's. While she has used Harris Tweed, the logo is often attached to products that are not made with true Harris Tweed and is therefore thought by many to be misleading.

In 2009, British fashion designer Sara Berman designed a capsule collection of limited edition Harris Tweed coats sold exclusively through her online boutique [http://www.vogue.co.uk/news/daily/090428-sara-berman-launches-harris-tweed-c.aspx]

Translation

The phrase "Harris Tweed" occurs as such in the following languages: English, Swedish.

Translation(s) in other languages: German: Harris-Tweed, Esperanto: Harris-tvido.