Iconic Scottish cashmere and clothing brand Brora have today announced they will be opening a new store at Edinburgh Airport. The 800 sq ft store is airside in the main terminal building and is set to open in late February as part of a major redevelopment of the airport retail space.
Victoria Stapleton, Founder and Creative Director of Brora, says “We pitched against various other cashmere brands but the airport chose us for our authenticity, heritage, style and range and as significantly, our commitment to make our cashmere in Scotland”.
Over 11 million passengers use the airport each year and a growing proportion of these are from overseas.
In 1993 Stapleton searched Scotland for the best mill to make her cashmere designs. Back then Scottish cashmere came in the safe shades of camel, grey and navy; she wanted to change all that and add modern styling to the mix. Today close to three hundred workers in and around Hawick rely on Brora for their livelihood. Two years ago, Chanel bought Barrie Knitwear, also based in Hawick, to secure the make and quality of their cashmere lines.
Stapleton is passionate about “made in Scotland” for her cashmere and “made in the UK” as a whole, “It is a very different beast to Chinese made cashmere; the fibre selected is long and fine, of the highest calibre, the colours are blended using six or seven different shades, the milling processes use the soft Scottish waters to produce a superior finished garment that will stand the test of time.” Over the last 22 years she has pushed the limits of design and what can be achieved technically for both knitwear apparel and accessories. The mill Brora uses in Hawick continues to invest in the most up to date electronic knitwear technology to help support this innovation and creativity. Stapleton has never believed in fast fashion, more a philosophy of buying less but buying the best.
The intention is to continue to expand Brora to support jobs in mills and sewing workshops around the UK; and in Hawick, hopefully re-employ some of those recently made redundant by the closure of Hawick Knitwear last week. 2014 saw the opening of Brora’s first international store on Madison Avenue, NYC and last winter Brora collaborated with London designer Eudon Choi for an acclaimed collection that sold through faster than any collaboration to date. The new airport store is the next step in an exciting period for Brora and it seems the customer is realising cashmere for life is better investment.
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