Futuristic Knitwear at Pringle of Scotland

From the first cashmere jumper in 1870 to the most recent 3D-print and leather embellishment, Pringle of Scotland has consistently challenged the technical boundaries of knit and weave for nearly two hundreds years. The fashion house is credited with designing the iconic intarsia knit, synonymous with Grace Kelly twinsets and Brigitte Bardot rollnecks — an iconic trilateral print as easily photographed on The Duke of Windsor as on Hollywood actress Jean Simmons, or more recently Tilda Swinton and Anna Freemantle. ”Pringle took the sporty two-piece cardigan and sweater set from the golf course and retailored it to create the twinset," explains Allan Godfrey, Senior Knitwear Manager for Pringle. "At that moment, a classic British style icon was born.”

For A/W14, Pringle took a bold new leap into the unchartered and highly impressive waters of 3D knitwear: traditional staples were revved up for a new dawn of knitwear in a high-tec hybrid blend of micro-cut nylon, engineered laser-cuts and chunky cable knit, rooted in 3D Argyle prints made in collaboration with architect and material scientist Richard Beckett. “These materials were then seamlessly integrated into the collection using traditional knitwear techniques,” Godfrey continues. “Each fabric has been designed and engineered to exhibit the required movement, behaviour and aesthetic in order to work on the body and as part of the seasonal collection.”

3D print has previously cropped up in haute couture but this is the first time that it has been used prominently within ready-to-wear. Mod references were also given a feminine spin with polo-shirts with fluted sleeves and delicate laddering on slouchy rollnecks. These ideas feed into the menswear S/S15 collection too, reappropriating cricket cable-knit jumpers and the classic British Tattersall check. It was a sharp blend of futuristic knit and brand heritage. Here, we asked Tom Baxter to illustrate our favourite knit and weave from the menswear and womenswear shows.

Text by Mhairi Graham