Pringle of Scotland Exhibition: 200 Years of Knitwear & Cashmere

Pringle of Scotland has reached a bicentennial milestone this year, marking 200 years since starting out in a sleepy valley on the outskirts of Hawick. Such an achievement needs celebrating, considering that Pringle was around during the industrial revolution when knitwear wasn't considered fashionable - it was always worn as underwear. Dubbed Fully Fashioned, the curation traces intricately - both in pictures and artefacts, the evolution of the Scottish firm, from its debut in 1815 as a maker of women's undergarments to a global connoisseur of cashmere.Officially opened in London's Serpentine this month to the hum of London fashion week AW15, the visual story of Pringle mimics knitwear’s transition from underwear to outerwear. Coinciding with women’s entry into modern life, the exhibit houses photographs of knitwear on the golf course and how the once masculine piece of cloth found its way in the home and wardrobes of post WWI women.Three short films, created by Michael Clark, draw on fashion archives from the Royal Wardrobe, Hawick Museum and The Women Golfers' Museum - giving motion to the role of knitwear in the past century. Of further interest are the displays of original hosiery made by Pringle in the very beginning, whose sheer construction and slender silhouette has remained so timeless that they could be worn by women in 2015.Pringle invented the golfer argyle print, which was adored by the Duke of Windsor in mid-century years. But Pringle's fashion reputation is indebted to its cashmere twinsets, picked up by celebrities in the Forties and Fifties. Snaps were taken of actresses (namely Anne Crawford and Grace Kelly) as they landed at airports in the woolly suits - and soon women everywhere wanted one. What was this textural suit that accompanied the stars and their 'it' bags as they traveled?The glamor knits led to futuristic screen-printed cashmeres too, in the decades proceeding but not before Pringle sent its knits to Queen Elizabeth and her sister Princess Margaret. The curation boasts a cream sweater donated by Her Majesty - with personalized thank you note.On show, a new series of campaign images taken by Albert Watson on the Isle of Skye, are editorial portrayals of Pringle now. Scottish figures Stella Tennant, David Shrigley and Luke Treadaway feature in the shots, next to retro campaigns of Pringle animated and in the flesh with Tilda Swinton as muse.Overall, the exhibition is special as it explores the central role of Pringle of Scotland in the production and design of knitwear, not only in Scotland but around the world."Fully Fashioned: The Pringle of Scotland Story" will be open to the public from Friday April 10 until Sunday August 16 2015 at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh. The exhibition will then tour America and Asia.