Something Vintage by Gillian - Thursday, July 09, 2015 http://3storymagazine.com/pringle-of-scotland/ Two hundred years ago it made cozy underwear. Fifty years ago it was dressing the likes of Grace Kelly. Today, celebrating its 200th birthday, Pringle is still going strong. We give an exclusive preview of an exhibition which is set to tour the USA and Asia. By Gillian Drummond. All photos courtesy of Royal Museum of Scotland/Pringle Scotland unless otherwise noted. A Pringle 1958 advertisement. Photo: S. John Graphic Pringle of Scotland, celebrating its 200th anniversary this year, carries a name that's synonymous with several things. There's golf and the Pringle branded cardigans and shirts still favored by lovers of the sport. There's cashmere, prevalent in the knitwear company's garments. There's the word 'twinset', coined by Pringle's first designer in 1934. And there are Stella Tennant, Tilda Swinton and Ewan McGregor, just a few of the actors/models who have fronted the brand. 1/8
Something Vintage - 07-09-2015 Pringle began in 1815 in the small town of Hawick in the Borders of Scotland and went on to become a worldwide luxury knitwear brand. As part of its 200th year, the company has collaborated on Fully Fashioned, an exhibition at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh. Soon to come to the USA, Fully Fashioned tells the history of a firm that began making undergarments and now has collections at the major international fashion shows. Pringle now has limited manufacturing in Scotland; in 2000 it was bought by Hong Kong-based SC Fang & Sons. We caught the exhibition in Edinburgh. Here's what we found out: After years of making undergarments and hosiery, Pringle introduced the button-up cardigan in the 1930s (below). Like its underwear, the cardi had a deep waist rib and sides that followed the contour of the body. Pringle's move from underwear to outerwear began in the 1930s. Photo by Gillian Drummond. Otto Weisz, Pringle's first knitwear designer, is credited with coming up with the name 'twinset', describing a short-sleeved vest and cardigan combo. He is said to have coined the term after seeing twins in a pram entering a Pringle mill in the 1930s (the company provided childcare at its factories to encourage women to work). 2/8
Something VintageGrace - 07-09-2015 Actresses Kelly and Sophia Loren were among the celebrities who wore Pringle during the '50s and '60s. A Pringle cardigan with embroidery detail. Photo by Gillian Drummond. A round-neck Pringle cardigan with embroidery from the 1950s. Photo by Gillian Drummond. Pringle has been supplying underwear and outerwear to the Royal Family since the 1940s. Queen Elizabeth still wears a Pringle twinset today. In 2010 actress Tilda Swinton - the face of Pringle since 2009 - designed a twinset for the company based on one her grandmother used to wear. It even includes darned elbows, which her gran had (see below). 3/8
A twinset designed for Pringle by actress/model Tilda Swinton. Photo by Gillian Drummond. Tilda Swinton wearing the design she did for the Pringle of Scotland 195 collaboration campaign. Pringle's largest outlet in Edinburgh was the Jenners department store, which still operates on Edinburgh's Princes Street. 4/8
Jenners department store in Edinburgh, which was Pringle's largest outlet in the city. Photo by Gillian Drummond. Pringle designs in the '60s included the 'Kildonan', a cashmere dress modeled for British Vogue by Jean Shrimpton, and a double-weight cashmere ski sweater (see below). 5/8
The Kildonan dress. Photo by Gillian Drummond. Pringle even got into skiwear in the 1960s. Photo by Gillian Drummond. Pringle's first women's collection was shown at London Fashion Week in 2002, and its first men's collection at Milan Fashion Week a year later. Scottish-born ballet dancer Michael Clark and his dance company choreographed and performed three short dance films for Pringle's 200-year celebration, featuring twinsets and a golfing cardigan, among others. The autumn/winter 2014 collection saw head of design Massimo Nicosia collaborating with 6/8
architect and material scientist Richard Beckett in a series of 3D printed fabrics and innovative new technology, including a cable-knit polo neck with nylon inserts (below). The cable sweater modeled by Sam Rollinson (opposite) and featuring nylon inserts. Photo by Gillian Drummond. Sam Rollinson, shot in Scotland for Pringle of Scotland, AW 2014 Campaign, photographed by Roe Etheridge, wearing a design with 3-D print elements. * Pringle's Fully Fashioned exhibition is at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh until 7/8
August 16th. It is then set to tour the USA and Asia, although no dates have been set yet. For more information visit nms.ac.uk. PDF generated by Kalin's PDF Creation Station 8/8 Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)