A closer look at our SS20 collection

Our latest collection is inspired by coastal escapes, both here in Ireland and abroad.

In the northwest of Ireland, summer months offer plenty of opportunities for long walks on the beach and weekend days spent sailing along the wild Atlantic coastline. However beautiful Ireland is, we are not always guaranteed with predictable sunny summer weather! A week in France or Spain in bright sunshine is often a welcome escape.

The new Spring Summer 2020 men’s collection is inspired by the idea of a beach in Europe, enjoying the spring and summer season to its fullest along the coast, heading abroad to weddings, and spending quiet weekends at home.

The Finn suit – made in Irish linen, designed and woven by Magee Weaving,
coordinated with an Irish linen grandfather style shirt, the Corlea.

Relaxed palettes of slate blue, duck egg, sage green and earthy brown across the collection are invigorated by bold accents of medallion yellow, azure, gold and peach. Texture is key for this season, with natural luxury fabrics like washed linen and slubbed silk forming the basis for the collection. Linen is a favourite for spring and summer, as its truly sustainable, requiring less water and land to create.

has a mixed reaction due to its tendency to crease but is a truly sustainable product (uses less water to grow, less land required to grow flax and it can be processed without chemicals) and we should embrace it! Irish linen is world renowned and this collection features this beautiful fabric in shirts, jackets, trousers and suits.

Magee 1866 have been designing and weaving fabric at their mill in County Donegal for over 150 years, and this season’s clothing collection brings these fabrics to life with smart, long-lasting and timeless design.

All-new zip Malin sweatshirt with appliqué tweed ‘1866’

Hero pieces for men include casual colour-blocked knits with a Donegal fleck, and linen drawstring trousers, which can be paired with a linen jacket for the ultimate summer wedding suit. All-new pieces include 1866-branded sweatshirts and T-shirts, with genuine Donegal Tweed detailing. We have also stayed true to our 150 years of heritage with luxury lightweight wool blazers, tweed suits and a Cavan gilet in handwoven Donegal Tweed.

Our men’s designer, Fenella, names the handwoven Cavan gilet as one of her favourite pieces for the season: “This indulgent merlot-coloured herringbone is packed full of lavender, olive, rust, cobalt & mustard flecks. This season, we’ve introduced this special cloth into our popular Cavan Gilet design – a smart, functional & simple piece of versatile outerwear, which perfectly showcases the beauty in our own Weaving fabrics.”

Wool is the backbone of our weaving mill in Donegal, and an all-year round product certainly for the Irish and UK summers. SS20 highlights include our handwoven jackets and gilets, and women’s lightweight wool jackets.

For women, this season’s collection puts an emphasis on sustainable luxury wool, cashmere and cotton fibres. It gives a knowing nod to the reappearance of 1970’s styling with exaggerated silhouettes, bold plain linens, and hints of glamourous glittering lurex.

The Emma coat in cashmere & wool, woven in Donegal.

Hero pieces include the Emma coat in an exaggerated dusky pink and cream herringbone, made of luxuriously soft wool cashmere. The timeless Grace coat, with close-fitting princess seams and a flared waist, returns in eye-catching azure blue. The cropped Sadie jacket in navy and white silk is dappled with colours of orange, lemon, lime and pink.

The Grace coat in a contemporary blue salt & pepper tweed, designed and woven by us in Donegal. Styled with A Liberty print silk Darcy top and Sandy cropped chinos.

Each piece is designed and made with longevity in mind. Our main office and Weaving mill is based in Donegal, a beautiful part of the world, with rugged land and seascapes. We are all now increasingly aware of the damage we are doing to our natural surroundings, particularly in the clothing trade (the second biggest pollutant in the world after oil!). We all know we need to act fast for the future of our planet.

As a company, Magee 1866 have always focused on natural fibres, high quality fabrics and product, all made to stand the test of time. This ethos was part of our DNA long before the global drive to be more sustainable, through company practices and the natural qualities of our collection pieces. We are continually reviewing how we can improve our approach.