Team GB athletes will stride into the closing ceremony of the Paris Olympics wearing suits designed and made by Perthshire fashion boss Nadia Alexander.
The Auchterarder business owner prides herself on “flock to frock” sustainability, and is possibly one of the country’s only fashion designers with their own farm.
Participants at the games will wear hand-crafted suits made and woven with fabrics from McNaughtons in Perth at the closing parade in August.
The attire will be worn at select formal events including Team GB’s visit to the palace in November, hopefully with medals in tow.
It is a project which has required 40,000 meters of cloth to tailor 532 suits, made bespoke for each Olympic star.
And Nadia has explained how a bold attitude and focus on sustainability and local materials helped win her the contract to tailor Team GB.
Hand-crafted Team GB suits by Nadia Alexander
Speaking with The Courier, Nadia said the athletes had expressed their delight with how the clothes looked and felt.
“We are fitting all of the athletes in Team GB this year, which is incredibly exciting for us,” she said.
“Winning this contract was based on firstly, a bit of a brass-neck on my part, and our heavy focus on sustainability and using fleece from our farm to make woven products.
“When we went for the tender for Team GB, I pushed on the fact we were not based overseas, we are right on the doorstep and could make something truly special and hand-crafted.
“The clothes are formal wear, a two-piece suit which is 100% Scottish woven wool.
“Our athletes have absolutely loved the suits.
“They are generally young people, some of them as young as 16, and we have fitted already more than 150 athletes and every one of them has been delighted with their suit.
“Each one has commented on how they can keep them for life. These are not made from polyester or other nasty fabrics, so to have something they can keep, with hopefully their gold medals, is fantastic.”
Oliami and the textile market
Nadia owns a number of textiles and luxury fashion businesses, including Alexander Manufacturing.
In Aucheterarder, she runs Oliami, an independent retail shop on the town’s High Street.
She said the market for high end, sustainably sourced clothing was booming, with customers being more selective than ever in the marketplace.
“People are definitely considering more about what they purchase now.
“They are investing in sustainable pieces which will last the test of time and that is where our focus is.
“We are working on some really special projects at the moment, and our store Oliami in Auchterarder is selling our own collection made in Scotland, BearCo, which is by far our best-selling brand.
“Our pieces can retail from £499 upwards, and we are seeing the market getting stronger.”
Flock-to-frock sustainability
With customers searching for more environmentally friendly garments, Nadia points out the importance of transparent sustainability.
“We have a flock-to-frock model, and are probably one of the first and only fashion businesses in the UK with our own sheep.
“It is taken right through from shearing, to scouring, spinning, weaving, dying, to end garment.
“There are many firms who will buy fleeces locally, but we have our own farm and can trace the process right through.
“And I think that is what really sells our story.”
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