‘FASHION, turn to the left. Fashion, turn to the right …” Bowie was right. Whatever direction you look this autumn you will find something to please those with an interest in and passion for textiles, fabrics and design. From museums to exhibitions to art classes and books, the creativity and craft of the fashion industry is on display somewhere near you. Here are nine days out (and one day in) around Scotland to keep the fashion-conscious among you busy well into winter.

 

Vintage Kilo Pop-Up, Edinburgh

Get your (no doubt very stylish) skates on for this vintage sale in Edinburgh today and tomorrow. Organised by we are, this pop-up sale is taking place in the car park of St James Quarter (Level B3) between 10am and 6pm on both days. Pick up a bag when you arrive, fill it with your chosen items and then pay by weight. Entry costs £1.50

Visit facebook.com/wearesecondlifefashion

 

Scotland Re:Design Fashion Festival, Dundee, November 15-19

Showcasing the best of Scottish fashion and textiles this six-day festival, the SR:D Fashion Festival, is staging exhibitions, catwalks, pop-up shops, workshops and the odd party (including one celebrating the 10th anniversary of designer Hayley Scanlon’s label) around the city. It all kicks off with an opening night gala at the V&A Dundee.

And if you’re in the area make sure and visit the Scottish Design Galleries at V&A Dundee, home to the finest examples of knitwear, Paisley patterns, Hunter wellies and designs by key contemporary fashion designers including Holly Fulton, whose lip-patterned dress was loosely inspired by the love affair between the Duke of Westminster and the French fashion designer Coco Chanel.

Visit redesign.scot for tickets and details of SR:D Festival & vam.ac.uk/dundee

 

KNITWEAR: Chanel to Westwood, Dovecot Studios, Edinburgh

This major exhibition of 20th-century knitwear is one of the highlights for anyone interested in fashion this autumn. It features more than 150 knitwear pieces from the collection of Mark and Cleo Butterfield, including a Chanel jersey from the 1920s, vintage woollen swimwear and examples of the work of Bill Gibb, Julien MacDonald and, as the title suggests, Vivienne Westwood.

Pop, punk and modernism all get a mention along the way. In short, you’ll never look at your granny’s knitting needles in the same way again. Oh, and make a note in your diary that next year Dovecot is hosting an exhibition of the work of artist and designer Kaffe Fassett. Another excuse to pop in and visit the excellent cafe.

KNITWEAR continues at Dovecot Studios until March 11. Visit dovecotstudios.com

 

Always Fully Dressed: Fashion Drawing Class, Glasgow

Here’s fun. Artist and illustrator Holly Sharpe has just started a new fashion drawing class in Glasgow’s west end. Located in Broomhall Church Hall in Randolph Road on Wednesday evenings, here’s your chance to capture a live model (wearing clothes, natch) in pencil or paint, with expert guidance from Sharpe who in the past has worked with the likes of Emporio Armani, MAC cosmetics, Chloe fragrances and Marks and Spencer. Tickets cost £11.01. And remember to bring your own sketchbook, pens or iPads.

Visit hollysharpe.com

 

Dalgarven Mill Museum of Country Life & Costume, Kilwinning

Dalgarven is home to some 2,500 items in its costume collection dating back to the 1770s, most collected from the local area. For a sense of what people wore in rural Scotland there is no better starting place. From a light blue silk caraco (jacket) circa 1770-1785 and an 18th-century blue woollen bonnet and coats, shawls, bonnets and boots from the Victorian era, right up to clothes from Biba and Carnaby Street in the 1960s, this collection reminds us of what we wore down the centuries. It’s particularly strong on clothes from the 1920s, including silk and lace underwear made in India and handmade shoes. A must-visit for fashion lovers and students.

Visit dalgarvenmill.org.uk

 

Bernat Klein: Design in Colour, National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh

Marking the centenary of his birth, this new exhibition on the life and designs of the Serbian-born, Scottish-based post-war textile designer Bernat Klein promises a splash of summer colour in these muted days of autumn. Klein was a remarkable designer and a remarkable person who fled the Nazis as a young man, turned his hand (not very auspiciously) to spying for the British before moving to the Scottish Borders where he built up a hugely successful business in textiles with his designs, attracting the attention of everyone from Pierre Cardin and Christian Dior to Nina Ricci and Hardy Amies. He was worn by both Princess Margaret and Jean Shrimpton back in the day. And while his legend has faded in the last three decades (he retired in 1992 and died in 2014), there’s been a concerted attempt to re-evaluate his work in recent years. This new exhibition at the National Museum of Scotland should do much to restore his reputation and remind us how vivid and thrilling his work was.

Bernat Klein: Design in Colour opens next Saturday and runs until April 23

Visit nms.ac.uk

 

Fashion and Style Gallery, National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh

And while you’re in the building it would be a shame not to visit the Fashion and Style gallery on Level One of the museum, where you can catch designs by Scotland’s own Jean Muir, Vivienne Westwood, Zandra Rhodes, and Pringle of Scotland. Fashion eye candy of the first order, in other words.

 

Borders Textile Towerhouse, Hawick

Bernat Klein was a key figure in the textile industry in the Borders. But for a wider picture of the region’s contribution to the story of knitwear and tweed, a visit to the Borders Textile Towerhouse is required. Located in a 16th-century tower house in Hawick, this collection of garments, artefacts and photographs weaves a story of two centuries of tradition and innovation in the area. The Towerhouse’s exhibition programme helps bring the story up to date via contemporary work. Sky Above, Earth Below, an exhibition of textiles and drawings by Helen Walsh, opens next Saturday.

Visit liveborders.org.uk/culture/museums/our-museums/borders-textile-towerhouse

 

Alexander McQueen’s headstone, Kilmuir Cemetery, Skye

If you travel to Skye you can pay tribute to one of the greatest of the UK’s 20th-century fashion designers. Alexander McQueen, who always spoke fondly of his Highland heritage, is laid to rest in the cemetery in Kilmuir. The green slate boulder that is his headstone was designed by sculptor Andrew Tanser and the artist Eric Marland did the engraving, which includes the Shakespearian quotation: “Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind.” A unique memorial for a unique artist.

 

Steven Klein

And after all that running around, do you fancy an afternoon in? If so, this retrospective volume of fashion photographs by Steven Klein will keep you amused. That’s when it’s not shocking you. Published by Phaidon, it features glamorous and at times provocative images by the doyen of fashion photographers, drawn from the pages of Vogue and i-D amongst many other high-end magazines. Madonna, Brad Pitt and Kim Kardashian are all to be found in its pages. “You give him a dress, and he will give you a girl in a dress with a robot in a garden,” former Vogue editor Anna Wintour once said of Klein. “It’s clever, conceptual and ultimately lyrical.”

Steven Klein is published by Phaidon, £150