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At Glasgow’s airport on my way to Stornoway located in the Scottish archipelago of the Outer Hebrides, I recieved an unusual request from the airline’s ground personnel: my hand luggage could not be taken on board with me because it would not fit in the small 34 seats airplane with just one stewardess and designed to have just one line of seats on its left side. There is no need for a Boeing to make the 1hour 15 minutes flight it’s too remote, too hidden and too pretty a place where the roughness of the scenery suggests that God may have started his major creation right there.
It is in this rural and seemly uninhabited place where children learn Gaelic before they learn English that a group of about 120 weavers, simple and dedicated folks spend hours on end transforming sheep wool into Harris Tweed – the raw material for a Paul Smith coat say, Chanel boots, Lanvin blankets, Vivienne Westwood dresses and Ralph Lauren shirts. These are men who work in their wooden offices, on their backyards. Men, of about, 60 years of age who pedal from 8 am to 4 pm in ancestral machines capable of creating the famous local tweed. The wool produced in this region is so pure and of such good quality that it has its own certificate of origin (an Act of Parliament of 1910). To be able to use the name Harris Tweed the production of the cloth must follow certain steps foreseen by law in Great Britain. The whole process must be made in the Outer Hebrides (name of the archipelago formed by the islands of Lewis, Harris, Uist and Barra) with local new wool. A mixture of silk or cashmere is not acceptable and it is absolutely obligatory (mandatory) that the weavers work in their own houses and not in factories. “We are very strict in our control” says Lorna Macaulay, Supervisor of the Harris Tweed Authority – the body responsible for the seal of authenticity. “It is the oldest British legislation regarding a product of controlled origin” – says Brian Wilson, former MP for Tony Blair and partner of Harris Tweed Hebrides – the company responsible for 95% of the production of tweed in the Outer Hebrides. Three years ago, the ex-politician decided to dedicate himself to both the preservation and to renovate the making of the Harris Tweed and to put on the map of the grand luxury brands this unique region of Scotland where the only distillery is not yet 3 years-old and therefore cannot bottle the whisky. To modernize the tweed’s image, Mr. Wilson’s company entered a partnership with Topman – Britain’s top selling store that sold a collection designed by Kate Moss. Magazines like Paris Match and Monocle sensed the move and have dedicated quite an amount of space to the noble tweed.
Today Harris Tweed Hebrides exports to more than 50 countries. “It’s an old yarn with a new twist” – says Mr. Wilson who will be in Brazil in March to participate in the UK Trade and Investment and to better understand the Brazilian market and to study the possibility of exporting Harris Tweed to Brazil.
To this date another 17 firms will attend the event taking place between March 22 and March 25 in São Paulo. These brands see in Brazil excellent business possibilities and also have something exclusive to offer to the country. This is the case of Johnstons, founded in 1797, which employs 800 people and which last year made 45 million pounds. The cashmere produced by this firm is used by Burberry, Chanel, Hermès and Louis Vuitton. “We are the name behind the best names” – says Jenny Stewart, public relations at Jonhstons. The headquarters of this firm is in the city of Elgin next to beautiful beaches, excellent golf courses, incredible whiskys, and the delicious Walkers butter cookies. The firm has offices in Tokyo, London, Düsseldorf and New York. Their target is now Brazil. “Your potential is infinite” – says Jenny.