Why tweed is now a hallmark of Scottish fashion

Picture: TSPL

In a secret green space off of Edinburgh's Grassmarket, Paul Walker's studio is packed with tweeds of every imaginable pattern, colour and texture. The Walker Slater founder and designer thinks the hand-loomed textile can become as diverse a fabric as the Italian denim. 'Tweed is almost becoming the denim of Scotland.

The Italian’s do denim very well and Scots do tweed very well,” he says. Traditional Harris tweed lends colours from the countryside – mossy greens, ocean blues and rugged mountainous browns are on every rail in Walker

Slater’s two Edinburgh stores. Aesthetics to the side for a moment, Paul remarks how tweed is equally functional and beautiful. “It’s warm, it’s water repellant and it’s carelessly elegant,” he says.