Pringle of Scotland Limited (

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well as ...

: ''Pringle na h-Alba''), trading as Pringle of Scotland, is a Scottish fashion brand specialising in cashmere

knitwear Knitted fabric is a textile that results from knitting, the process of inter-looping of yarns or inter-meshing of loops. Its properties are distinct from woven fabric in that it is more flexible and can be more readily constructed into smaller pi ...

and holds the royal warrant as manufacturers of knitted garments. It is one of the world's oldest continually operating fashion companies. The company has its flagship stores in London's Mount Street, Edinburgh's George Street,

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, and is sold by retailers in 20 countries.

History

Formation

Robert Pringle established Pringle of Scotland in 1815 in the

Scottish Borders The Scottish Borders ( sco, the Mairches, 'the Marches'; gd, Crìochan na h-Alba) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the City of Edinburgh, Dumfries and Galloway, East Lothian, Midlothian, South Lanarkshire, West Lothi ...

. Initially the company produced hosiery and underwear, and have been producing cashmere since 1870. Otto Weisz was appointed as the first full-time designer in the knitwear industry in 1934. The

twinset A twinset, twin set or sweater-set is a matching set of a cardigan and a (usually) short-sleeved jumper or pullover. The twinset first appeared in the 1940s and is now considered a classic wardrobe staple. Description The classic twinse ...

and the ancient-Scottish Argyle adapted pattern were designed under Weisz's direction, which became popular with

Jean Simmons Jean Merilyn Simmons, (31 January 1929 – 22 January 2010) was a British actress and singer. One of J. Arthur Rank's "well-spoken young starlets", she appeared predominantly in films, beginning with those made in Great Britain during and afte ...

Brigitte Bardot Brigitte Anne-Marie Bardot ( ; ; born 28 September 1934), often referred to by her initials B.B., is a former French actress, singer and model. Famous for portraying sexually emancipated characters with hedonistic lifestyles, she was one of the ...

and

Grace Kelly Grace Patricia Kelly (November 12, 1929 – September 14, 1982) was an American actress who, after starring in several significant films in the early to mid-1950s, became Princess of Monaco by marrying Prince Rainier III in April 1956. Kelly ...

Dawson International Plc

In 1967, Pringle of Scotland was acquired by Joseph Dawson (Holdings) Limited, who were later renamed Dawson International Plc. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s leisure and sportswear played a key role within the Pringle of Scotland brand with top British golf players including

Nick Faldo Sir Nicholas Alexander Faldo, (born 18 July 1957) is an English retired professional golfer and television commentator. A top player of his era, renowned for his dedication to the game, he was ranked No. 1 on the Official World Golf Ranking for ...

and

Colin Montgomerie Colin Stuart Montgomerie, Order of the British Empire, OBE (born 23 June 1963) is a Scotland, Scottish professional golfer. He has won a record eight European Tour PGA European Tour#Order of Merit winners, Order of Merit titles, including a stre ...

being sponsored by the group. During the early to mid-1980s that Pringle become a household name on the football terraces and still holds a nostalgic place in the heart of the casual movement. In 2000, the brand which was losing around £4.5m per annum was bought for £6m by

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

-based S.C. Fang & Sons Company, Ltd. Pringle has headquarters in Hawick, Scotland and a design studio in London, England.

Management changes

In the new millennium, under the leadership of newly appointed chief executive

Kim Winser Kim Winser, OBE (born 11 March 1959) is a British businesswoman and Founder and CEO of the eponymous womenswear label, Winser London. Winser was the youngest-appointed female commercial divisional board director at Marks & Spencer Plc, a former C ...

formerly of

Marks & Spencer Marks and Spencer Group plc (commonly abbreviated to M&S and colloquially known as Marks's or Marks & Sparks) is a major British multinational retailer with headquarters in Paddington, London that specialises in selling clothing, beauty, home ...

, Stuart Stockdale the company exhibited at

London Fashion Week London Fashion Week (LFW) is a clothing trade show that takes place in London twice a year, in February and September. Showcasing over 250 designers to a global audience of influential media and retailers, it is one of the 'Big Four' fashion wee ...

with new designs based on the company's trademark twinset and Argyle pattern. In 2005, Winser and Stockdale left the company, and having so far invested over £35m Kenneth Fang handed over control to his children, Jean and Douglas Fang. By this stage sales had risen to almost £25m with losses running at around £8m due to the expansion. After

Clare Waight Keller Clare Waight Keller (born 19 August 1970) is a British stylist and fashion designer, who has served as the Artistic Director for a number of luxury fashion houses and brands, including Pringle of Scotland, Chloé, and Givenchy. Early life Ke ...

was appointed the new Creative Director, 2007 saw the introduction of a luxury accessories range. In March 2011 ex-

Balenciaga Balenciaga SA ( ) is a luxury fashion house founded in 1919 by the Spanish designer Cristóbal Balenciaga in San Sebastian, Spain. Balenciaga produces ready-to-wear, footwear, handbags, and accessories and licenses its name and branding to C ...

designer Alistair Carr was named as Design Director following the resignation of Keller.

2016–present

Fran Stringer was announced as the Womenswear Design Director in 2016 and Giuseppe Marretta joined as Menswear Design Director in 2019 In 2019 there were collaborations with H&M worldwide (Pringle of Scotland X H&M) and skater brand

Palace A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome which ...

(Pringle of Scotland X Palace). In 2020 Pringle of Scotland celebrated its 205th anniversary.

References

External links

Company website
{{men's undergarments Clothing companies of Scotland Scottish brands High fashion brands British Royal Warrant holders Hawick Knitwear manufacturers Manufacturing companies established in 1815 1815 establishments in Scotland Companies based in Edinburgh Cashmere wool