Mill marking 200 historic years of top quality fabric

Sew far, so good for tweed brand

- BY SARAH WARD

A HISTORIC textile mill that produces tweed for international fashion brands such as Chanel has recreated Victorian designs for the 200th anniversary of the woollen fabric.

Lovat Mill, in Hawick, Scottish Borders, was saved in 1999 by two entrepreneurs who were working for another tweed producer. It has since produced cloth for Madonna, the King and Taylor Swift, and to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the weaving technique, it has revealed 17 designs - inspired by archives in 19th-century notebooks found in the attic which will be released to fashion brands.

Tweed was created in Scottish Borders textile mills in 1826 after a misreading from a London tradesman of its previous name, tweel. Lovat Mill was the last operating mill, and was bought by textile experts Alan Cumming and Stephen Rendle in 1999.