Modern Artisans Launch at Dumfries House Op-Ed by Tamara Cincik
Last week I attended the launch of the YNAP x The Princes Foundation launch of the latest Modern Artisans collection at Dumfries House, East Ayrshire, for their first ever carbon neutral collection, of 13 pieces made by 4 Italian and 4 British Artisans. The premise of this collaboration is that craft, skills and provenance should be front and centre of a collection. The fully funded programme allowed the Artisans to train in skills at the Textile Training Centre at Dumfries House, where they undertook six months of intensive training in luxury small batch production. Training focused on advanced technical production skills within sewing, pattern drafting and quality control, while also developing expertise to handle wool, cashmere, and silk to ensure garment finishes meet the luxury market standard. The Artisans also learnt about the product development process at Fashion Enter run by Jenny Holloway, who will be speaking at the UK Trade and Business Commission evidence session I am chairing this Thursday, and luxury knitwear manufacturing, as they designed four knitwear pieces, the only styles to be produced off-site by UK-based suppliers Johnstons of Elgin and Corgi.
The Artisans drew inspiration from the gardens at Highgrove House, which is famously run on organic and sustainable principles. Principles which King Charles iii is well renowned in his global thought leadership in promoting over the past 50 years, placing Nature, People, and Planet first. He has been a champion for the fight against climate change and biodiversity loss, alongside craft and heritage. Drawing inspiration from nature, the Artisans were mentored by a range of talented designers, including Stella Jean and Gabriella Hearst.
Dumfries House and gardens completely wowed me: from meeting Jill the Head Gardener discussing how she manages to garden beds filled with fully blooming roses in November in Scotland (apparently deadheading is key), to seeing the Textiles Centre led by Jacqueline Farrell, Education Director for The Princes Foundation at Dumfries House, where craft and provenance are central to the ethos of their textiles education. The House guide took some of us on a tour, explaining how The Princes Foundation came to save the house, the first built by Robert Adam and an early example of Palladian style architecture, as well as the collection of Chippendale furniture, which is the largest collection in the world. Working as a community asset space, the gardens are open to all, for all, set in 2000 acres, with a wooden built playground set among huge trees, a maze, gardens and walks.
In a world which feels uncertain, unstable, and all too frequently it is, there is something very powerful in recognising the timelessness of sustainable values, craft skills, nature and provenance. These are core to our work at Fashion Roundtable and what I found refreshing was to see them in action from education through to business via the work of The Princes Foundation.