New York: Part 1

No city in the world has sold more Harris Tweed than New York. The Clo Mor was a big hit in the Big Apple for many decades until demand declined through the 1980’s.

The Big Apple's Love Affair with Harris Tweed Fabric

In 2013 the revival continues, discerning tastes for artisan fabrics, heritage and little help from cold April winds have all worked in our favour. Harris Tweed Hebrides was in New York to launch a partnership with Leo Burnett on TUMBLR called Need for Tweed. A press lunch in the pro-tweed hipster hangout of Brooklyn seemed an apt way to kick-off the digital smorgasbord of heritage and fashion.

Enter Tony Mendez: The "Master of Disguise" and a Champion of Harris Tweed

We were delighted to play host to Lynn Yaeger and Brett Fahlgren along with an eclectic group of fashionistas and clients but we needed a star turn. It was time to call the agent. Not just any agent but arguably the most celebrated CIA agent in recent history; Tony Mendez. Brought into the public consciousness through Oscar winning film Argo. The ‘master of disguise’ gave an inspirational speech featuring an acknowledgement of one of his secret weapons; "That was our uniform. The jackets were representative of our group. Those of us in the CIA who did overseas work, work in the field. If you were in the field during the Blitz, you wore a trench coat. If you were tracking Ivan (the Soviet Union and its allies), you had Harris Tweed."

Tony and wife Jonna (also ex-CIA) rolled off stories of missions deep behind enemy lines and their appreciation of the known fashion fabric and the reasons why it was worn; ‘Our group were more free thinking than the normal suits back at The Agency’. Every Harris Tweed jacket has a story, whether looking discreet in the face of The Ayatollah or just looking good, we would love to see and hear yours.