Heriot-Watt students take up Kingsman tailor's challenge

Huntsman's creative director Campbell Carey trained in the Scottish Borders

The Savile Row tailor that helped to inspire the Kingsman movie trilogy has issued a fabric challenge to students in the Scottish Borders.

It is a part of an industry project at Heriot-Watt University's School of Textiles and Design in Galashiels.

Huntsman, the bespoke London tailoring house, has teamed up with Huddersfield Fine Worsteds (HFW) for the challenge.

The students have been asked to design a new fabric to be used for menswear sport jacketing.

Campbell Carey, Huntsman's creative director, and HFW's managing director Iain Milligan both trained in Galashiels at the Scottish College of Textiles - the forerunner to the Heriot-Watt facility.

Student Leah Martin said the challenge was a chance to learn new skills

Leah Martin, 22, from County Louth in Ireland, is one of the BA (Hons) Design for Textiles students taking part in the project.

"I've never designed for menswear before, so this is a really exciting opportunity to really push ourselves and learn new skills," she said.

"The fact that we're using British yarns and that the fabric will be woven in the UK and tailored in the UK is really amazing.

"It's just a great opportunity to see how the industry works, and is also really positive from a sustainability point of view."

The challenge is to produce a new fabric for a sport jacket

She said she was always interested in art and design and was introduced to woven textiles and the opportunities available to work in the industry during a portfolio course.

"I am fascinated how you can make your designs and put them into practice - and suddenly it becomes a woven design," she said.

Assistant professor Fiona Pankhurst said it was great for students to work with people with such a "wealth of experience in the industry".

"The challenge for our students is to design something a bit different," she said.

"They'll have to research the market area and think about the customer they're designing for."

The students taking part are in their third year of a BA (Hons) in Design for Textiles

The winning design will be woven up and used by Huntsman in a special collection

The winning sports jacket fabric design will be woven up by HFW and used by Huntsman as a special design in part of their collection.

Mr Carey said: "Huntsman is passionate about supporting the next generation of talent.

"This project will give the students a comprehensive insight into the world of textiles and fashion in the luxury market, from inception all the way through to a tangible and commercial product."

Mr Milligan said HFW hoped to give the students a better understanding of the textiles industry.

"They can get involved in the fabric production side with me, and then see their design showcased in the Huntsman window," he said.

"In terms of fabric design, I'm looking for a combination of ingenuity, excitement and something fresh."

Huntsman said it was keen to support the "next generation of talent" in the industry