THE STYLEFORUM X ARCHIBALD CHRISTMAS GIFT GMTO

[ArchibaldLondon]

Hi SF community,

We’re back with a new project we’re excited to share: KW-01 - The Perfect Scarf.

We started our co-creation with the SF-01 sneakers, then hand-welted shoes, and now we’re broadening our scope. Designed by the community, woven or knitted in Italy or Scotland (depending on what the unanimous vote is), available in a range of colours and materials. We’ve chosen scarves as a flexible choice, applicable to anyone in your life, a singularly adaptable item, a luxury that is neither under or overwhelming, a utility that can also be an accessory.

We’ve dropped in early to solve an inevitable problem, tackling the Christmas gifting situation, well ahead of time. Holidays can be a lot of different things, but Christmas ones are unique. Expensive, stressful -- with your participation expected… And no, at Archibald we aren’t a bunch of Grinches, just the opposite, in fact. Which is why we’re crafting the Archibald x SF Christmas Special, giving you a chance to purchase for a loved one (or even for yourself), the perfect gift, so far in advance, by the time the season comes round, there’s no panic, no problem -- for the trickiest person in your life (or a touch of self-care to pre-empt the self-neglect) the subject is settled.

How it works:

1. Fill in our short survey (https://www.archibaldlondon.com/survey/styleforum-x-archibald/the-archibald-ultimate-scarf) to share your thoughts on all aspects of the scarf- material, design, fringes- you name it.
2. We’ll then share the results in the forum for open discussion and feedback, which we’ll also take into account as part of the research and design phase.
3. Our trusted craftsmen in Italy/Scotland will create 3-5 samples which we’ll share on the forum through photos and videos for any final thoughts and feedback.
4. Pre-orders will open up for all sample designs, and we’ll take it from there.

The scarves will be available at Naked with a small margin added for unforeseen costs (we are learning).

For you: Holiday gifting (or self-gifting) sorted at an unbeatable value. The offer will be exclusively available to the SF community and maybe (just maybe) our registered user base on Archibald. Though it is an SF item so I think we want to keep this exclusive.

For us: You will be gifting an item with our name on it to yourself and many people so we are seeing this as an incredible opportunity to get more people to understand just what we do.

Best,

Rohan and the team at Archibald

 

[tropics]

I tried to start the survey and it gave me an error for my (valid) email address. Possibly because I am already subscribed to the mail list?

 

[Cheshire symposium]

This article gives an interesting background to the incredible Scottish luxury knitwear industry and the many fine brands out there that make high quality scarves.

Something About Scottish Woolens — Die, Workwear!

Selkirk is a small Scottish town perched on a hillside overlooking the Ettrick Water, a tributary of the fast-flowing River Tweed, which is where some say Scotland’s most famous fabric got its name. For generations, the people here were celebrated for their shoemaking skills, but like other...

dieworkwear.com

If we can get close to a Begg & Co scarf, we will have done very well indeed.

 

[OrlandoMo]

This article gives an interesting background to the incredible Scottish luxury knitwear industry and the many fine brands out there that make high quality scarves.

Something About Scottish Woolens — Die, Workwear!

Selkirk is a small Scottish town perched on a hillside overlooking the Ettrick Water, a tributary of the fast-flowing River Tweed, which is where some say Scotland’s most famous fabric got its name. For generations, the people here were celebrated for their shoemaking skills, but like other...

dieworkwear.com

If we can get close to a Begg & Co scarf, we will have done very well indeed.

very interesting, always a fan of @dieworkwear. For the KW-01, would you prefer it to be made in Scotland or Italy? We produce a lot in Hawick but we could even start looking into some producers in Selkirk...

 

[Cheshire symposium]

very interesting, always a fan of @dieworkwear. For the KW-01, would you prefer it to be made in Scotland or Italy? We produce a lot in Hawick but we could even start looking into some producers in Selkirk...

I am less concerned with the location of the producer (Scotland vs Italy), both could offer good options. The other keys are the composition (cashmere, lambswool, etc.), quality of the material used, weight (I presume this is a winter scarf), and shape/style/colour.
The difficulty you are going to face is the market is over saturated with so called luxury scarves. It’s very difficult to differentiate between an amazing scarf and something average unless you physically handle the product. For example, people scoff at paying £300+ for a Begg scarf until they handle one in person and feel the quality of material and construction.

 

[OrlandoMo]

I am less concerned with the location of the producer (Scotland vs Italy), both could offer good options. The other keys are the composition (cashmere, lambswool, etc.), quality of the material used, weight (I presume this is a winter scarf), and shape/style/colour.
The difficulty you are going to face is the market is over saturated with so called luxury scarves. It’s very difficult to differentiate between an amazing scarf and something average unless you physically handle the product. For example, people scoff at paying £300+ for a Begg scarf until they handle one in person and feel the quality of material and construction.

Exactly what we are trying to achieve with this, getting more people to understand what we do by delivering the best quality scarves.

Our issue is that we only sell online and some products (e.g. scarves, sneakers) need to be "touched" to really be understood.

 

[Cheshire symposium]

Exactly what we are trying to achieve with this, getting more people to understand what we do by delivering the best quality scarves.

Our issue is that we only sell online and some products (e.g. scarves, sneakers) need to be "touched" to really be understood.

Its tough. However, you have got a tremendous brand; built from a very strong set of fundamental values (integrity, honesty, transparency, pursuit of quality etc). Align that with your disruptive business model; I think you guys are going places.

 

[Daniel Hakimi]

Longevity is an important factor. If I'm getting a scarf I love... Pure cashmere has a tendency to be delicate and pill a little too fast. I'm not super familiar with angora or mohair, but whatever blend you end up with... Longevity. Yeah.

 

[ArchibaldLondon]

And… the results are in!

Thank you all for participating in the survey, we can’t wait to hear your thoughts and feedback as we enter phase 2. We see this as an iterative process, so contributions to the survey are still welcome and will supplement general discussion.

Without further ado, attached you can find the outcome of the survey, basically what will be made into samples by our craftsmen in Scotland. We encourage discussion at this point- once again this is a complete collaboration, so if you think it would be interesting to go a different way or deviate from the original plan we are very open to new ideas!

So far, the results show interest in a wide and long scarf (between 180/190x50/70cm), 100% cashmere (we’ll use the best Grade A Mongolian Cashmere), woven, with ripple finish and medium/heavy weight. Most of you use the scarf for warmth but some also for style. Most favorite knot: the parisian.

Thrilled to see what our craftsmen will come up with!

 

[OrlandoMo]

Longevity is an important factor. If I'm getting a scarf I love... Pure cashmere has a tendency to be delicate and pill a little too fast. I'm not super familiar with angora or mohair, but whatever blend you end up with... Longevity. Yeah.

we were thinking about a 2ply cashmere maybe, better longevity. Woven in Scotland. I've been talking to a couple of mills last week, they're all very interesting

 

[OrlandoMo]

This article gives an interesting background to the incredible Scottish luxury knitwear industry and the many fine brands out there that make high quality scarves.

Something About Scottish Woolens — Die, Workwear!

Selkirk is a small Scottish town perched on a hillside overlooking the Ettrick Water, a tributary of the fast-flowing River Tweed, which is where some say Scotland’s most famous fabric got its name. For generations, the people here were celebrated for their shoemaking skills, but like other...

dieworkwear.com

If we can get close to a Begg & Co scarf, we will have done very well indeed.

@dieworkwear I basically contacted everyone from this article

 

[micollins]

am I still in time to vote??

 

[OrlandoMo]

am I still in time to vote??

we closed the survey yesterday! But you can give us your opinion about the results here on the thread

 

[micollins]

we closed the survey yesterday! But you can give us your opinion about the results here on the thread

where can I find the results??

 

[micollins]

ok my bad I got them...

Full cashmere and woven go well together. Why Scotland and not England for production?