The 'Cleopatra' and her namesake

The next in the series of posts on the A/W 2014 collection focuses on Cleopatra VII Philopator, known simply as Cleopatra, who named our beautiful sweater, pictured below. 

Cleopatra was the last active pharaoh of Egypt and the last ruler of the Ptolemaic dynasty, ruling Egypt from 51 BC - 30 BC. She is known and celebrated for her beauty, as well as her love affairs with the Roman warlords Julius Caesar and Mark Antony.

Cleopatra was, most famously (and brilliantly), played by Elizabeth Taylor in the 1963 movie. But it's clearly time for a revival of her story, as James Cameron is also rumoured to be working on a Cleopatra 3D biopic, featuring Angelina Jolie in the title role.

Whether or not she was as beautiful as was claimed, she was a highly intelligent woman and an astute politician, who brought prosperity and peace to a country that was bankrupt and split by civil war. Subsequently, she was a popular ruler among the people of Egypt both because she embraced the Egyptian culture and because the country’s fortunes improved so greatly during her rule.

We felt as a strong woman ruling and improving the fortunes of a country in turmoil, she was an excellent choice to name one of our favourite pieces in the entire collection:

The 'Victoria' and her namesake

My next post on our A/W 2014 garments is on the Victoria cardigan and Queen Victoria, after whom our lovely knit is named (in case you hadn't guessed).

I've recently had more cause to be interested in Victoria's life and reign and the Victorians in general, as when I got married last year my then-fiancé and I had our wedding reception at Osborne House, which was Victoria & Albert's beautiful, Italian-inspired Isle of Wight escape.

Queen Victoria probably doesn't really need much of an introduction or explanation, but I will endeavour to provide a brief background about this incredible woman and monarch regardless.

Victoria was Queen of Great Britain and Ireland from June 1837 until her death in January 1901 and, together with her husband Albert, is associated with Britain's great age of industrial expansion, economic progress and empire. Victoria married Albert, her first cousin, in 1840 and so one of history's great love stories (in my opinion) began. During their marriage they had nine children, all of whom went on to marry into royal or noble families across Europe.

Seven attempts were made on Victoria's life between 1840 and 1882 but it was her courageous attitude towards these attacks that greatly strengthened her popularity.
After Albert tragically died in December 1861, Victoria was inconsolable, plunged into deep mourning and wore black for the rest of her life. She avoided all public appearances for many years and spent much of this time ensconced on the Isle of Wight with her family.
Victoria died at her beloved Osborne House after a reign which lasted almost 64 years, the longest in British history.

Follow these links to see the posts on the Emmeline dress and Suu sweater.

The 'Suu' and her namesake

We're continuing on from our earlier post this week on the A/W 2014 collection and the strong international and historical women who have named the pieces, by introducing the 'Suu' sweater, named after Aung San Suu Kyi.

Aung San Suu Kyi is a Burmese politician, leader of the opposition party in Burma (or Myanmar, as it is officially known). Her father, General Aung San, was a national hero. He was the main man responsible for securing Burma's independence from British rule in 1947, but was killed when his daughter was just two-years-old.

In 1988, after studying at Oxford University, Suu Kyi returned to Burma to look after her sick mother. The country was in turmoil, with thousands of people taking to the streets because they wanted a democracy, rather than the military-run government that was in power at the time. She agreed with her people and led the revolt against the then-leader, General Ne Win, with a series of peaceful protests. She and her party won the 1990 election despite her being disqualified and put under house arrest by the government. She remained under house arrest for almost 20 years, making her one of the world's most prominent political prisoners. During that time she was forbidden from seeing her two sons, or her British husband, who died from cancer in 1999.

She was finally released from house arrest in November 2010 and was able to leave the country for the first time in 24 years, knowing Burma's new leaders would allow her to return. In 1991 Aung San Suu Kyi won the Nobel Peace Prize for her non-violent struggle for democracy and human rights. 

This year she was named by Forbes magazine as the 61st most powerful woman in the world. She has become an international symbol of peaceful resistance in the face of oppression.

I cannot fail to be utterly in awe of a woman who has remained so composed in the face of adversity. Patience and the ability to protest so peacefully are such admirable qualities. If only I could be half as calm and patient as Aung San Suu Kyi - anyone who knows me even in passing will tell you that patience is not something I am known for....

The 'Emmeline' and her namesake

As the A/W 2014 collection will soon be hitting stores, we thought we'd give a bit of insight into the garments and where their names came from. This season, a big part of my inspiration was women and, in particular, strong or significant women from across the world and throughout history. Our batwing Emmeline sweater dress knitted in Donegal and mohair, seems a good place to kick off... 

Emmeline is named after Emmeline Pankhurst, a British political activist and leader of the British suffragette movement. Born in Manchester and educated in France, her work is recognised as crucial in achieving women's suffrage in the UK. She was a controversial figure who was repeatedly imprisoned for using violent tactics in her struggle for equality. Disillusioned with the women's political groups of the time, she founded the Women's Political and Social Union, which became a formidable force in British politics. Sadly, she died just weeks before equal voting rights for women was passed by parliament. In 1999, Time magazine named Pankhurst as one of the 100 most important people of the 20th century. Without Pankhurst and her peers it might have been many years before women got the vote in Britain. I think it's safe to say, whether you're a feminist or not, that we owe her a great debt.

Neneh Cherry: Part 2

Neneh Cherry, seen below looking gorgeous in her 'Victoria' cardigan, pre-ordered from the A/W 2014 collection. To pre-order your own piece from the A/W 2014 collection, contact us.

Our latest fan: Neneh Cherry

We were thrilled when Neneh Cherry got in touch earlier this year - she'd discovered our knitwear and loved it. Subsequently she's one of the first to get her hands on the Autumn/Winter 2014 'Victoria' cardigan (one of my favourite pieces from the whole collection) and I was particularly chuffed, because I've been a huge fan of Neneh's since the late '80s.
Her latest album 'Blank Project' is fantastic and here she is talking about her favourite records with French radio presenter, Laura Leishman:

Introducing the Autumn/Winter 2014 collection, continued

As promised yesterday, here is the rest of the Autumn/Winter 2014 collection, for your delectation.... For part one, click here.
[Photography by Alyssa Boni, make-up by Ellie Tobin, model Naomi Pelkiewicz)

Introducing the Autumn/Winter 2014 collection

If you haven't been following our Instagram feed over the last day or so, you may not have seen our new collection gradually appearing, image by image. We're going to share yesterday's images with you below. To catch the rest of them still coming through today, find us here.

This season we were inspired by strong, influential women throughout the world with a focus on the specific craft of knitting and crochet – for example: most of the pieces consist of knitted panels which have then been assembled using an assortment of different crochet stitches. The Boudicca coat also features a scarf panel which has been knitted using a yarn which was hand-spun especially for us by a local spinner in Dalston (Sheep of Steel) using Merino wool and sustainable soy bean fibre.

See part two of our big reveal here.
[Photography by Alyssa Boni, make-up by Ellie Tobin, model Naomi Pelkiewicz)

See the Autumn/Winter 2014 collection hot off the press!

Can't make it to London Fashion Week this season? Don't panic! Over the next 36 hours we will be unveiling our AW14 collection image by image on Instagram. Follow us here to be the first to catch each look as it appears....

La Muse

I've been in Switzerland over the last few days and finally had the opportunity to visit our newest stockist, La Muse in Geneva. It's a lovely store on a picturesque street in the old town. The owner, Viola (pictured below), showed me some of the beautiful pieces she stocks by other British brands such as Lara Bohinc and Nicholas Kirkwood as well as some highly covetable dresses in technical fabrics by new Swiss brand Huber Egloff.

We chatted over coffee about Viola's philosophy for her boutique and her buying strategy - she doesn't follow trends or allow herself to be distracted by bestselling pieces, but instead buys from the heart and goes for what she really loves. She understands her customer and knows that they expect exceptional quality from independent brands with a strong story behind them.

I took the opportunity to deliver Viola's SS14 order in person (including the Brighstone cardigan & Springvale t-shirt) and also gave her an exclusive preview of the new AW14 collection.

Sheep of Steel

I took a much-needed break from the studio this morning to pop over to Islington and check out this year's New Designers exhibition at the Business Design Centre. There were some beautiful pieces of knitwear on show by various graduates but my main reason for going was to see Irem Arig, who I worked with on the Future Cities project last summer.

She has set up a new collective of UK-based spinners called Sheep of Steel and their HQ, conveniently enough, is just down the road from our own in Dalston. Their mission is to create unique, experimental,  yet beautiful yarns using all manner of fibres, colours and textures. In Irem's own words: the possibilities are endless.

We're hoping to work together again, perhaps on some yarn for A/W 2014 - I am particularly excited about some of the incredible fibres I saw this morning that I have never come across before; banana, soya and corn to name a few. These are all by-products of the food industry which makes them completely sustainable and eco friendly. They are as soft as silk and I can't wait to spin some up and see how they knit.