I can see what designer Jilli Blackwood was trying to do with her new tartan design for the Scottish team at this year's Commonwealth Games but unfortunately she hasn't pulled it off.
The main problem with the design is the disjointed mix of colours that do not sit well together. Blackwood has claimed that she took inspiration from the Scottish seasons so I am baffled why this has resulted in the choice of fuchsia, turquoise and caramel. These are colours that, to my mind, do not represent the landscape of Scotland. This tartan looks like it was created with somewhere warm and vibrant like Miami in mind as where is the forest green, brown and heather purple that we associate with Scotland's natural landscapes and countryside?
It is one thing to want to give our national textiles a modern spin and quite another to render them in candy colours more suited to a child's bedroom. While I applaud Blackwood's desire to create something unique and appropriate for modern day Scotland, the end result is not a success.
The tartan looks overwhelmingly feminine due to the colours featured which leads me to wonder how many of our male athletes will willingly want to clothe themselves in it. Scotland has a rich history of textile production and this could have been a great opportunity to show why we are at the forefront of the industry. Instead, this is another missed opportunity to successfully promote ourselves on the world stage.
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