FASHION The Culotte Kilt 6m of Japanese selvedge denim, deeply pleated with a mix of wide knife and box pleats, conceals a bifurcated under-apron, hidden by a double pleating section at the back. This example is mixed with traditional sashiko cloth and vintage trimmings, with a wide, high waistband and bespoke leather work details. Vintage kimono material is used to line the two deep front pockets, for a cycling friendly, go-anywhere garment.
Twisting Tradition Andrea Chappell, a kiltmaker based in Forres, is expanding the possibilities of our pleated highland dress, by creating modern designs using traditional techniques in her bespoke, contemporary kilts.
It’s over twenty years ago now that I trained as a designer at Central Saint Martins and the Royal College of Art, developing a passion for print using traditional letterpress, which grew into a love affair with heritage crafts. Since then, I’ve practised as an interpretation designer for museums and visitor experiences, collaborating with craftspeople to interpret the stories of people and places at heritage sites at home and 26abroad.
As an epilogue to each of those stories I began making a kilt to commemorate each project. As a garment historically associating its wearer with a place, or people, it was a fitting way to mark a moment, using textiles related to the location and embedding my own artwork within the linings. It was also a much-loved part of my wardrobe, as since childhood my mother made my own kilts for school. This commemoration soon became my personal tradition (which my husband would describe as an addiction), as well as my daily ‘uniform’ throughout my professional life. In the early days I commissioned my kilts from Howie Nicholsby of 21st Century Kilts, but following our move to Moray I found the Keith Kilt School, where I began training in the traditional, hand stitched method myself. Kiltmaking extended naturally from my daily
