The Staufenberger Repository

Factory visit

We went up to Huddersfield last week, to see the Staufenberger tweed on loom, as they say in the trade.

It was fascinating. Knowing very close to nothing about the weaving process, our visit proved most educational. We learnt about warp and weft, about heddles and creels and about all manner of weaving trivia. 

To our untutored eyes, the surprising thing about the factory is that despite the process being completely different in detail, the principles of weaving are unchanged since the invention of the loom. The relentless march of mechanisation that began during the Industrial Revolution has, as you would expect, transformed the the way fabric is woven. But this transformation is a series of adjustments that make the same process faster, more efficient, less labour intensive.

Perhaps it's naive to expect a higher degree of innovation. After all, the internal combustion engine has not changed, in principle, since its invention. The likes of the Wankel rotary engine never gained widespread acceptance.

On reflection, this lack of change makes perfect sense. Because it's not the machine that innovates it's the product or output. In other words, the nature of weaving hasn't changed because the nature of fabric hasn't changed. But that's a whole other topic.

Anyway, all that mechanisation means that our little order was produced very quickly. In fact it was produced so quickly that we nearly missed it, having been delayed en route to Huddersfield.

Now that it's been woven, it just needs to be checked for imperfections (knots and the suchlike), given a wash to remove the impurities and pre-shrink the fabric and then pressed before delivery.

It's all very exciting.

 

What goes around comes around

Whilst in Huddersfield we had a delve into the archives at HFW.

Huddersfield Fine Worsteds is the result of the consolidation of a number of weaving businesses, many dating back to the 19th century. Of these, Martin Sons and Company is the name under which they produce all their bespoke work, including our city-meets-the-country tweed design. They produce these bespoke fabrics for a number of fashion houses including Chanel, Armani, Givenchy and Prada. So we're in good company.

We had a lot of fun thumbing through swatch books of their previous years' designs. As you would imagine, the 70s provided some highlights, including many shades of brown and much lamé.

The more of these books we flicked through the more we began spotting influences across the decades. Just like the fashion world's current obsession with the 80s, at one point during the 70s there was a thing for 30s styling, driven in part by the popularity of movie of The Great Gatsby.

Today, designers often make the trip to Huddersfield to peruse the HFW archives looking for inspiration for their forthcoming collections.

I wonder if anyone will ever be inspired by our slightly eccentric Staufenberger tweed.

What goes around comes around 2

One of our reasons for doing The Suit was that we felt it was a time for a change from the scruffy, dress down thing that has been popular for men for, well, for a long time now.

Thankfully, we're not alone. At least, we're not if this article is to be believed.

Let's hope they're right. Otherwise, we'll be sitting on a lot of suit fabric.

Dance Interlude

From Kid Koala and Jonathan Ing.