TRADITION met fashion innovation at the Royal Highland Show as the wool from ancient breeds of Scottish sheep was showcased as cutting-edge fashion.

Scots designers Iona Crawford, Jo Storie, Di Gilpin, Judy R Clark, Joyce Paton and Angela Cassidy, along with some of the country's biggest fashion labels, strutted their newest work on the catwalk at the National Sheep Association (NSA) pavilion.

The audience, mostly sheep farmers, may have been dressed for rain but were mesmerised when they saw the wool from their Cheviots, Shetlands, Blackface, Charolais, Texels and Suffolks fashioned into garments by new labels like Eribe, Jaggy Nettle, Kiltpin and Obscure Couture, alongside established brands like Harris Tweed Textiles, Johnstons of Elgin and Slanj Kilts.

Sharp Italian-style lightweight tartan jackets, beautiful chunky knitwear, tailored mini dresses and contemporary Duffel jackets were showcased by a team of models. There was a surprise guest appearance by SNP MEP Alyn Smith, who closed the Scottish Enterprise-funded show in a tartan suit by Slanj.

Jimmy Sinclair, of the NSA, said: "The purpose of the fashion show is to let people see the quality of real wool and how well it can be used for clothing."

Meanwhile, in the packed-out Food Hall, Scotland's enterprising artisan food producers used the Show, which runs until tomorrow at Ingliston, to showcase new products to a captive audience of some of the 180,000 expected over the event's four days.