In Elgin, Scotland, Tracing Fashion History Through Cashmere

17.12.2024 - 15:35 / cntraveler.com / Christian Dior

The word Elgin may conjure an infamous set of Greek marbles, but this small town of the same name in Morayshire, in the northeast of Scotland, has solid links with another treasured commodity: cashmere.

When I arrive from Inverness Airport, about 45 minutes away, Elgin and its sandstone houses strike me as relatively unassuming. But the region is both a gateway to the Highlands and home to an illustrious past. Nearby stands Sueno's Stone, a colossal stele carved by the Pict people of Scotland in the ninth century. The area was also once the site of Forres Castle, where Shakespeare placed Macbeth after his ascent to power. Elgin itself had ties with several kings and was the seat of the Diocese of Moray, as the ruins of Elgin Cathedral attest.

The town is also where Johnstons of Elgin, which began manufacturing fine knitwear on the banks of the River Lossie in 1797, spins its yarn. The river once powered its looms via wood waterwheels, and the pure, soft water is still used today to wash cashmere. James Johnston, the son of founder Alexander Johnston, was fascinated with the fiber and transformed the mill into Britain's primary source for luxury woolens and estate tweeds.

Backstage at Christian Dior’s 1955 show in Scotland

This rich heritage is why Dior creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri chose Johnstons to make five key pieces for her cruise spring-summer 2025 collection. Unveiled at Drummond Castle, in the central Scottish county of Perthshire, last June, it renewed the fashion house's ties with Scotland after nearly seven decades: Christian Dior showed his 1951 and 1955 spring-summer collections in Perthshire and at the Gleneagles hotel. Scotland's textile tradition runs through Chiuri's collection. She commissioned Harris Tweed to create cloths reflecting the hues of Caledonian landscapes; knitwear designer Robert Mackie for accessories; and contemporary kilt specialist Samantha McCoach for a fresh take on the traditional Scottish belted plaid. Johnstons, meanwhile, was responsible for two crewneck argyle sweaters woven on Japanese Shima machines and a hand-embroidered boatneck sweater inspired by a 1930s map of Scotland's woolen mills, unearthed from the Johnstons' archives.

Chiuri's curiosity is shared by the many travelers who visit the mill each year. I'm greeted at its monogrammed gates by CEO Chris Gaffney, who accompanies me to the top of the mill for a view of the Cairngorms mountains. Clouds of steam puff from the chimneys of the dyers and washhouses below, and a hum of activity rises in the air. Down in the raw-goods warehouse, he shows me giant sacks stuffed with unprocessed Chinese and Mongolian cashmere. I dip my hand into one and find the cotton-candy-like fiber seductively soft.