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For a small country, Scotland has an outsized and seemingly everlasting influence on fashion. A new collection from Dior, created alongside Scottish artisans, brings the country’s textile traditions to the runway.
Text by Olivia Barrett
ScotlandArea: 78,800 km2Time zone: GMT
In 1295, John Balliol of Scotland and Philip IV of France signed a treaty against Edward I of England, promising that if either country was invaded by England, the other would come to its aid.
There’s a thread of defiance woven into Scotland’s history, apparent in the stories the country likes to tell about itself: from the woad-daubed Robert the Bruce of Braveheart to sketchy Mark “Rent Boy” Renton. Scotland the brave. Scotland the scrappy. Intrinsically punk and historically treasonous, tartan embodies much of this spirited rebellion, worn both by outlawed clans and King’s Road-residing ruffians. As Christian Dior wrote in his Little Dictionary of Fashion in 1954, “It’s probably the only fancy fabric that resists fashions,” and a year later the founding couturier showed his collection in a ballroom in Perthshire. Nearly 70 years on, in the gardens of Drummond Castle, Dior presented its Resort 2025 collection in a pluralistic ode to Scotland’s culture and history. In a true homage to Monsieur Dior’s inceptive vision for the house, the collection found its footing with local and artisanal collaborators, once more weaving the global French house into Scotland’s textile landscape. Perhaps we’re witnessing a more fashion-forward revival of the Auld Alliance.
HARRIS TWEED
Since visiting the Harris Tweed Mill in November 2023, Maria Grazia Chiuri fostered a demonstrable appreciation for the heritage brand. Inspired by the Hebridean hues on the hillsides that envelop the mills, Dior partnered with Harris Tweed to develop three bespoke fabrics for the show, opening it with a celebration of the natural palettes of wild Scotland.
Photo by Trisha Ward
LE KILT
To be worn with tights underneath or nothing at all, the kilt remains a culturally resonant garment. Offering a contemporary take on the traditional piece, Le Kilt was founded by Samantha McCoach and her grandmother in 2014. Harking back to Dior’s 1955 Perthshire presentation, black and white photos from the show were screen-printed on the Le Kilt/Dior collaborative piece.
Photo by Kirsten McEwan
JOHNSTONS OF ELGINFounded in 1797, Johnstons of Elgin have meticulously honed their knitwear craft over their three-year history. Taking aesthetic inspiration from a 1930s map of Scotland, cartographic details were rendered in knit and embroidery for a weighty blanket and jumper, while Scottish argyle was represented in a heather grey and soft burgundy light-knit jumper.Photo by Emily MacInnes
POLLYANNA JOHNSONUnfolding on canvas and ceramics, Pollyanna Johnson’s delicate paintings reconfigure historical female figures and elevated traditional motifs. She took a delicate approach to Mary Queen of Scots, portraying this long-past ruler with an incredibly humane, pointedly female touch.Photo by Emily MacInnes
ROBERT MACKIEOperating in the Scottish coastal town of Irvine since 1845, Robert Mackie’s traditional Balmoral bonnets have found a new limelight on the runway. Combining felt and knit elements and topped with a wonderfully twee red pompom, the partnership commemorates a time-honoured textile tradition within an altogether more rapidly-moving current fashion climate. Photo by Kirsten McEwan
