Native – “of indigenous origin or growth”
Ahead of its launch, our Design Director Charlotte Temple introduces the inspiration behind the Magee 1866 Winter 2020 Collection.
What a year this has been! 2020 has forced us as a family, to really look at our business and what we stand for: heritage – over 150 years’ experience designing, weaving and tailoring luxurious fabrics and clothing, sustainability – such a key part of our future, less is more, fabric – our luxurious natural fibre wools, linens, silks woven and designed in our mill in Donegal, design – beautiful yet simple, timeless design with a focus on fit and comfort, family – as the fourth and fifth generation in this business, family is more important than ever.
And, of course, Ireland – our home, our native land. The theme for this winter’s collection is drawn from home, Ireland is a country bursting with culture, art, music, literature and craft, beautiful landscapes and coastline. We draw on this unique country for much of our ongoing inspiration.
We are delighted to introduce our winter 2020 collection ‘Native’ – a celebration of our landscape and place.
Made in Ireland – We are very excited about expanding our range of pieces made in Ireland. Highlights this winter include our traditional Banín Aran hanknit jumper for him, a classic red fisherman rib handknit crew neck for her and a new collection of colourful throws inspired by the land and seascapes that surround us.
Heritage – We have embraced our roots in timeless design this season in both our fabrics and finished pieces – highlights include our classic Corrib coat in a black & oat chunky Donegal tweed and the Emma oversized coat in a black & white cashmere/wool blend tweed.
Sustainability – This is a smaller collection featuring some of the best pieces we do – luxury coats, jackets and knitwear made with natural fibres – wool, cashmere and cotton. As always, we pay particular attention to the quality and make of our products – they are made to last. We are a slow fashion brand Highlights include our made in Ireland scarves, handknit accessories and the handwoven jacket.
Fabric – Magee Weaving is based on the banks of the River Eske and this collection showcases just some of our luxurious and intricately designed fabrics – classic herringbones and salt & peppers, (the true Donegal tweed) speckled with flecks of colour – blues, reds, pinks, yellows and greens. We also feature some bold, oversized checks in our men’s and women’s coats – the Erne and Clooney. The raw fabric is washed in the Eske’s peaty waters resulting in a beautifully soft finish.
Design – This season we have focused on designing timeless pieces, designed to be worn year after year. We are in a unique position of being able to design the fabric in our mill and then work these natural fibre cloths into our garments and accessories. Tailoring is very much part of our identity and highlights for him include the Easky, unstructured blazer in a colourful Donegal tweed, style with a navy lambswool crew neck and peachy soft cotton chinos. For her, the Grace coat – a mid-length tailored coat in a rich oat Donegal tweed crossed with a red check, style with one of our red pashminas and bridle leather belts – (made in England).
Family – We have spent considerable time looking to the future amidst all the challenges this year and we want to create a lifestyle brand with pieces we love and wear. Our favourites this winter? Lynn picked the Erne Coat with its rich autumnal checks, Paddy likes to layer so loves the Mullans ¼ zip lambswool knit, Rosy will be styling the Georgie gilet over a light knit and chinos and I love the Clooney wrap cardigan coat for its casual winter style.
