THEY are among the most famous Scottish textile brands in the world. Now talks are under way between Harris Tweed and Paisley Pattern to find a way to strengthen the largely unknown historical links between the two and to help the town protect and develop the pattern.
As part of its bid to become UK City of Culture 2021, new bespoke licensing agreements are being developed for high-end global fashion companies who want to use the Paisley Pattern in their designs.
A new “Made in Paisley” certification marque is being developed with the help of Harris Tweed Hebrides for products made by new designers and creatives who base themselves in the town.
Paisley has strong historic links to Harris Tweed. In the 19th century Lady Dunmore, widow of the local laird, sent two sisters from Harris to the town to learn how to weave and use the looms and to learn from the Paisley weavers’ expertise. The sisters, Catherine and Marion Macleod, are credited with making the first Harris Tweed cloth using techniques learned in Paisley.
Harris Tweed is protected from imitations by a 1993 Act of Parliament, which means only cloth dyed, spun and woven by islanders in the Outer Hebrides can receive the famous Orb seal.
By contrast Paisley Pattern, the teardrop design borrowed from Kashmir and which features on shawls woven in Paisley during the 18th and 19th centuries and exported across the world, is not patented.
However, Paisley Museum holds the world’s largest collection of 1,200 original shawls using the teardrop and Renfrewshire Council is looking to claim ownership of its sizeable collection of original patterns and sample books, which it holds in trust for the people of Paisley.
David Amos, head of policy and procurement at Renfrewshire Council, said: “We can’t replicate the Act of Parliament enjoyed by Harris Tweed, but we have been seeking advice from Harris Tweed Hebrides and from the Harris Tweed Authority about how we can best protect and exploit the famous Paisley Pattern for the benefit of the town.” It’s recognised around the world, but its historical connection with the town is not so well known.
George Adam, Paisley MSP, said: “The idea of licensing the Paisley patterns produced by manufactures in Paisley’s past is very interesting. There are a number of Paisley shawls which are noted as having national significance in Paisley museum. These patterns could be subject to some form of protection.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here