Team Scotland’s outfit designer has created a new fashion line out of leftover clothing scraps she’s gathered over the past decade. Siobhan Mackenzie designed the tartan uniforms worn by Scotland’s top athletes at the Commonwealth Games ’ opening ceremony last month.
The designer, who launched her self-named label in 2014, has told how her latest limited edition pure silk collection called ‘Repurpose’ is made entirely from cuttings of old tartans and prints. She says sustainability is part of the brand’s ethos and it was her dislike of waste that led her to keep offcuts of past orders, allowing her to accumulate a stock large enough to create her new range of kilts.
The designer, from the Black Isle in the Highlands, says she is determined to prove sustainability can be “sexy”.
Siobhan, 29, said: “Repurpose is a collection I have had planned for quite a while – being sustainable in business has always been a key factor since conception. I had lots of leftover silk tartans, dogstooth, and leopard print silks, all of which I’ve accumulated over the years from leftover orders or samples, and being the way I am I have kept them all.
“I was 10 when I decided I was going to be a fashion designer and I’ve been designing ever since. I’ve got silks left over from my graduate collection when I was a student and many since. I’ve always thought silk tartans were so beautiful and most of these tartans are not even made anymore. So I decided to use them all up and create a collection utilising all the leftovers which would otherwise have been waste stock materials.
“My dad was an environment officer for the Scottish Environment Protection Agency for over 30 years and I’ve been brought up to not be wasteful and to be really conscious of my environmental footprint. My upbringing has heavily influenced by choices within business and sustainability is a very important part of my brand’s ethos.”
Siobhan, who once created a kilt for Canadian pop star Justin Bieber to wear at a gig in Glasgow, added: “I want to prove that sustainability can be sexy. I’m trying to work in contrast to fast fashion where garments are created in sweatshops, sold cheaply and only last a couple of uses. I want to create pieces that are really going to last.”
Siobhan said she felt she was “floating on air” when she watched from the stands as Team Scotland’s athletes entered the Alexander Stadium in Birmingham. This year’s tartan, designed by her, was inspired by the colours from the Team Scotland’s thistle logo and also included yellow and green to represent Birmingham.
The tartan was then produced by the Lochcarron Mill in Selkirk.
She said: “It was wonderful thing to be able to design something for my country. I was brimming with pride as I watched Team Scotland wear my designs.”
Siobhan also co-designed the garments worn by Scottish athletes at the Commonwealth Games in Australia’s Gold Coast four years ago. Since launching her first collection in 2014, Siobhan’s work has garnered recognition across the globe and has been featured worldwide in Forbes, Elle US, WWD, Harper’s Bazaar US and starred in a VisitBritain worldwide campaign.
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