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• DA VINCI KEY TO ORB BRAND
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| CLIMBING on the Da Vinci Code bandwagon, Harris Tweed is making a special offer of a jacket length of its cloth, as supplied to and worn by Tom Hanks in the film of the book.
Tom Hanks is seen wearing his tweed jacket as he pursues clues throughout the movie, a traditional garment, it must have been deemed, for a professor to wear. If Mr Hanks had been required to pay for his four-metre length then it would have cost him £60 - but now it is available at the special rate of £36 for other would-be sleuths or maybe real professors or simply those who appreciate good tweed. Longer lengths may be ordered, at £9 per metre.
Harris Tweed Textiles is of course based on the Isle of Lewis, where the authentic tweed is stamped with the Harris Tweed orb. It has long since moved on from the heavy, unyielding, ever-lasting and traditional tweed of its old image, with lots of lighter weights, suppleness and a variety of colours and patterns that have seen it become popular in the designer field. Vivienne Westwood, Ralph Lauren and Hugo Boss are just some of the top names who have presented Harris Tweed in a new light. For more information visit their website on www.harris-tweed.co.uk.
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• SCABAL FLEECE RARE GOAT
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| 'THE GOLDEN FLEECE' of suitings might be a suitable description for a new cloth just launched by Scabal, said to be finer, softer and warmer than cashmere.
Yangir, the name of this luxury suiting, does indeed have a wonderful handle, very light and supple. It contains wool from a goat by the same name that lives on the 'roof of the world', the mountain range through Mongolia, Pakistan, Turkistan, Kazakhstan and Nepal. In Mongolia, from whence Scabal source their supply of the wool, the goat is known as the Yangir, meaning 'robust animal with fine wool', a pretty apposite translation. Others identify it as the Capra Ibex Sibirica goat but Yangir is certainly snappier.
Not surprisingly, this wild species is rare, not exactly keen to give up its fleece and therefore the amount of wool available from it limited, yielding only a few hundred kilos per annum. Scabal buy the finest, short fibres.
Hitherto used by them for scarves, this is the first time that it has been applied to a suiting, not an easy process. There is just 20per cent of the wool in the cloth, the rest Super 200s wool, but it does make it exceptionally soft and light at 320gms. Naturally, it is produced in the heartland of fine suitings, at Scabal's mill in Huddersfield, available in a selection of stripes as well as a couple of plains, all understandably of a conservative nature – this is an expensive cloth and not for the ephemeral fashion scene. Available from Scabal's representatives around the world or through your tailor, a suit length will be delivered in a gift box with brochure telling you all about its production, and with a set of special buttons. Expect to pay handsomely for the privilege.
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WHILE fine wool suitings remain the first choice for those having suits made in Savile Row, the popularity of cotton has shown a steady rise in recent years. Richard Anderson is one to point to this success, reporting that on his recent travels in the U.S. a pin point cotton has been especially favoured for jackets.
"We're making more jackets at present, an indication of the more relaxed tendency in vogue, I suppose. And the pin point cotton, which has a soft surface, has been phenomenally successful. We make it in classic styling, and it can be dressed up to be as formal as you like - or just worn casually."
The Cotton Board reveals that cotton has shown a steady rise in popularity across the clothing field since 1980, much of it due to new developments, finishes and designs that have made it an all year round choice. Now, organically grown cottons are the latest phenomenon, increasingly being used. In addition to classic seersucker and twill cloths, there are many rather more formal-looking cloths with high or 100per cent cotton content that perform well in tailored clothing. But a small percentage of elastane fibre in the content also provides the 'give' that makes for comfortable wear, particularly for travelling. Tailors can show the latest selections.
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