Inspired by the rich heritage and culture of Scotland and Ireland, Highland Homme is a project that intends to celebrate and carry forward tradition and tailoring.

Featuring a tailored Italian wool jacket inspired by an Alexander McQueen for Givenchy couture design. Bespoke hand stitched on canvas collar, peak lapel inserted through a slit opening from the overlapping top layer. The jacket features strong structured shoulders with two flap pockets on the front waist, six buttons for the crossover closure, three buttons on each cuff and a back vent which may be closed with five buttons.

The jacket is paired with a Stewart Black Modern wool tartan kilt.

I have long been interested in the work of Hedi Slimane and his synonymous androgynous rocker style. Slimane has long been a proponent of tailoring with some of his most memorable looks being rock n roll skinny suits. I wanted to take this inspiration but use it in a less obvious way. The Dior Homme FW 2004 collection was a major inspiration for this project. The large pleated skirts were a departure from his work until then and was notable for its androgynous approach. The skirts from this collection reminded me of Scottish kilts and it is here where the my concept was found. 

Scotland, with its rich heritage and culture has long been a source of fascination to me and so when I found the link between Scottish kilts and the work of Slimane, the concept came to me straight away. For anyone of Scottish ancestry, the kilt is a symbol of honor for the clan which they belong. Every clan or family has its own unique tartan pattern which is used for the family’s kilts. I did a lot of research into the varying tartan’s and this was where I found the options for my final fabric.

Aside from the array of clan tartans, I took inspiration for the colour palette from the Scottish highlands. The often cloud filled sky casts a grey shadow over the land and gives the landscapes a muted, dark colour palette and I aimed to recreate this in my final garment.

My jacket drew inspiration from the work of Alexander McQueen. McQueen himself used a tartan of his own design throughout several of his collections marking his own Scottish heritage. It is his use of vanishings however that I took as inspiration for my jacket. McQueen had a unique understanding of the dramatic potential of tailoring and his designs were often very technical.

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