ILPC 2027

History in use – authenticity in Scottish textile production

Distinctive features of the fashion industry render it highly uncertain. It is time-sensitive, notoriously fickle and increasingly fragmented (Rocamora 2002).  Competitive demands increasingly structure fashion as a global industry, with garment production taking place in developing countries, while design and marketing are concentrated in global cities with long histories in the industry (Dunford 2006).  The physical hubs of the fashion industry such as Milan, Paris and London are thus part of the highly differentiated global supply and value chains.

Analysis of the fashion industry, however, is most often concerned with aesthetics, with a consequent disconnection from the technical standards of the physical product and the politics of production (Aspers 2010; Entwistle 2009).  Indeed, textiles are generally given passing attention or treated as separate and subordinate to fashion although the activities of fashion designers are built on the labour of textile producers.  Aspers (2010) for example, argues that order in fashion segments comes from status (of retailers, brands and consumers) and not from any objective material quality of the constituent fabrics. Although the quality of fabrics can be measured by the intrinsic properties of the material, for example, types and weight of wool, cotton or silk, textiles also have symbolic associations connected to social distinctions, and the production of textiles has its own conditions that involve fashion, prestigious designers, and craft, bespoke and mass production techniques.  The fashion industry tends to downplay the role of textiles, preferring instead to promote the garment and designer, leaving textile manufacturers at the periphery of the industry, in practice and in their physical location.

Outside the world of fashion, however, the textiles industry takes a central position;  it is emblematic of industrialisation and mass production (Fine and Leopold 1993) and an illustrative example of alternative models of production such as flexible specialisation (Piore and Sabel 1984).  Flexible specialisation is evidenced by the persistence of small firms employing skilled craft workers, working with specialist technology to produce a wide range of products, flexible enough to respond to changing tastes, often situated in regional markets (Piore and Zeitlin 1985).  In contrast to the inexorable shift to mass production, Piore and Zeitlin argue that ‘technology appears to be more malleable and its connections to politics far more complex that the pervasively influential writings of classical political economy allow’ (1985:174).  The persistence of an indigenous textiles industry in Scotland, organised idiosyncratically is testament to this claim and worthy of empirical investigation.

The aim of this paper is therefore to analyse indigenous production of Scottish tartan and tweed, fabrics that have cultural meaning that also translates to the garments made from these fabrics, invoking national identity in the case of the kilt and social class in the case of tweed.  While there is disagreement over the precise definition of tweed, there is a general understanding that technically, tweed can be any woven, woollen cloth that exhibits a traditional ‘two-by-two’ thread twill pattern, beloved of both (male) academics and fashionistas.  Tartan is a specific tweed, woven in the same pattern with an instantly recognisable affiliation with Scotland (Fiddes 2006). Historically the process of systematisation of setts and titles (for tartans) flows logically out of the industrialisation process towards standardisation (Pittock 2010:52) and yet new tartans celebrating everything from national events such as the Commonwealth Games to company affiliations to haute couture designs, proliferate in the Scottish Register of Tartans.  Traditionally, local textile manufacturing has played an important role in the creative output and cultural heritage of Scotland since the pre-industrial era. Although contemporary production has suffered from global competition and mass production, recent data point to a tentative resurgence in the industry, with government support for skills development (textilescotland.com).  

Data for the paper is gathered from eight textile mills throughout Scotland, where we observed and made notes on the way in which mills operate, the workforce and the use of technology.  Thirty-five interviews have been conducted with producers (mill managers, textile designers, weavers) and consumers of textiles (fashion designers and cultural intermediaries) in order to understand systems of production and consumption.  Findings are organised around two cases studies:  Harris Tweed which has particular, legally inscribed, conditions for production (three mills) and Mainland producers (five mills), located in the north east and south west of Scotland who have more latitude in organising production with consequent variety in approaches to manufacturing. In the analysis we map the industry in Scotland, reflecting on the use of technology, production techniques and skills, embedded in a creative industry that is at the forefront of the UK government’s drive to encourage cultural entrepreneurship (McRobbie 2016).  Authenticity is a key feature of this traditional industry, demonstrated in the value attributed to the way in which textiles are produced, the type of machinery used in manufacture and in understandings of the products themselves.   However, the key contribution of the study is to offer an explanation of how history and tradition are used in contemporary textile production to carve out a place for Scottish craftsmanship and skills in the global economy.