irishtimes– This winter, think tweed: Irish tweed made with Irish wool. A tweed coat partners the newest flared or slouchy trousers, tops a modern bra and skirt ensemble, complements a long dress, culottes, even a suit. It has versatility, texture and longevity, as these images illustrate so well.
Anna Guerin’s new Landskein collection is a brave step forward, showing how modern design combined with heritage textiles and one of the country’s oldest traditional woollen mills can result in desirable coats and jackets with international appeal and impeccable sustainability credentials.
A gifted and experienced fashion designer, she revisited her native county for this collection using fabrics from Kerry Woollen Mills woven from lowland Irish wool. That partnership has borne fruit, as these handsome, covetable pieces styled with clothing and accessories from Celine amply prove.
The Eadie family has owned Kerry Woollen Mills in Beaufort, Co Kerry for over a century. There, they spin, dye, card and weave cloth, a tradition dating back to the 17th century. It is also carbon neutral as current owner Andrew Eadie has just installed a water turbine at their dam “the first since my grandfather installed one in 1928”, he says, which captures all the power needed to run the mill.
Guerin’s new collection, called Carapace and inspired by Irish modernist design and minimalist shapes, was shot in the award-winning Coal Lane house in Dublin designed by Stephanie and Graham O’Sullivan. The building harmonises raw concrete and natural light – “an ideal backdrop to capture the collection” says Guerin, who launched her modern, ultra stylish tweed coats and jackets last year.
Cut entirely in Irish fabric, the 15-piece collection of tailored coats and blazers features silhouettes that are unstructured and relaxed, the fabrics deliberately woven for extra lightness and layering. It is made by a small family-owned European company that produces for brands that include Burberry and Acne.
Pieces include a longline, oversized, belted trench coat in 100 per cent Irish twill, a double-breasted coat with amplified sleeves in oversized check, a longline coat with extended collar and lapel in camel and dove-blue Irish tweed and an oversized blazer in black and ecru herringbone.
Last month the Landskein featured on Amazon’s Modern Love. Minnie Driver and the Irish actress Zara Devlin wore pieces in John Carney’s On a Serpentine Road, while another coat called the Aerin will feature in a popular film trilogy later this year.
“My ambition is to create beautiful authentic pieces that are fully sustainable and convey my strong emotional connection to tweed. They will appeal to conscious, curious and connected women excited by a new modernity in traditional Irish textiles – and interested in our interweaving of past and present” says Guerin.
The Landskein can be found in Havana, Dublin; Kalu in Naas; Juju in Greystones; and from thelandskein.ie, with prices starting at €645. Instagram @the landskein. Guerin also offers personal viewings from her Dublin studio
The Landskein’s AW21 campaign was produced by NotAnotherIntl team, including London-based photographer Alex Hutchinson, Dublin-based stylist Yana McKillop, Dublin-based hair and make-up artist Leonard Daly and US-based model Kate Valk, represented by NotAnotherIntl
