The WR&S collection 'Tempest' features our Madeleine Top crafted from Harris Tweed® wool. Harris tweed is 100% British heritage wool, made exclusively in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. Still woven by hand, on a traditional treadle loom using generations-old indigenous crafts passed down through Hebridean islander communities since 1840. Each length of Harris Tweed wool is lovingly created in the homes of indigenous Hebridean islanders.
One of the most remarkable traits of Harris Tweed is the level of interconnection between the craft, the land and the people. Every step of the creation of this fabric occurs in the Outer Hebrides, and is carried out using time-honoured traditions and indigenous craft by Hebridean Islanders.
Process
Every meter of Harris Tweed Hebrides cloth is handwoven in the croft home of a Harris Tweed weaver on foot-powered treadle looms, using historic artisanal craft skills that have remained unchanged for over 100 years. Island weavers create intricate textured tweeds and rich patterns recalling the topography of the rocky Hebridean island landscape. Every natural and artisanal detail of the cloth encapsulates their island and showcases their affinity for nature.
Nature
The tweed chosen to craft our Madeleine top in recalls the sandy shores, grey sea stones, green mossy cliffsides and the ochre of salted lichen.
Nature is at the heart of every cloth crafted by Harris Tweed. The tweeds blend together the colours of the Scottish landscape, whether it's the shimmering shades of the storm clouds of the isles of the Outer Hebrides, the silvery-grey of the thistles in bloom.
Community & Heritage
Harris Tweed is crafted from Pure New Wool from Scottish Cheviot sheep on the hillsides of the British Isles certified by British Wool; then spun and dyed in their 100-year-old mill on Shawbost in the Outer Hebrides.
Keeping ancestral traditions alive, Harris Tweed Hebrides has revived and preserved the indigenous crafts of the communities of Lewis and Harris.
Authentication
Harris Tweed is the only cloth in the world governed by its own Act of Parliament. Ever since 1993 the role of the Harris Tweed Authority-the Guardians of the Orb, an independent statutory public body, has been to promote and maintain the authenticity, quality and reputation of the Harris Tweed cloth. This certification ensure that the tweed was handwoven by the islanders at their homes in the Outer Hebrides, finished in the Outer Hebrides and made from pure virgin wool dyed and spun in the Outer Hebrides. Only when satisfied that the article is genuinely deserving of the historic Orb will they brand the cloth with the certification mark, recognised globally as the guarantee of authentication.
Our Wild Rose & Sparrow design crafted from Harris Tweed and finished with panels of cotton, in our signature romantic silhouette, brings the heritage of Harris Tweed into the world of WR&S. An intrinsic part of the Tempest , this piece encapsulates the wild beauty of Scotland that was the heart of our collection.