Vanessa Seward brings Parisian polish to Scottish cashmere

A Parisian insouciance has lengthy outlined the work of Argentinian-born French dressmaker Vanessa Seward: her CV contains stints at Chanel, Saint Laurent and APC – working alongside Karl Lagerfeld, Tom Ford and Jean Touitou respectively – in addition to her 2014-founded eponymous label, which is presently on hiatus. On the latter, she honed a imaginative and prescient of straightforward femininity, inflected with thrives of Seventies glamour and one eye on color and print (she can be a painter, displaying a collection of works created throughout lockdown at Paris’ Mouvements Modernes gallery in 2021).

A brand new function, although, takes her removed from the hum of the French capital and in the direction of the rugged landscapes of Scotland, the birthplace of heritage knitwear model Begg x Co, which is headquartered between Ayr on the nation’s west coast and Hawick within the Scottish Borders (the latter has lengthy been often called the UK’s ‘house of cashmere’). Initially drafted for a one-off collaboration for the A/W 2025 season, Begg x Co sought a extra everlasting association, saying Seward because the model’s inventive director in early 2025 (the transfer coincides with the arrival of latest CEO Bruno Guillon in 2024, coming to the model after chief govt roles at Mulberry and John Lobb).

Seward says she was drawn to the function for the ‘magnificence and high quality’ of Begg x Co’s knitwear, first found on a procuring journey to London’s Burlington Arcade, the situation of the model’s flagship retailer (a later assembly with Guillon would seal the deal). Such approach is time-honed: founder Alex Begg started crafting scarves in Paisley in 1862, earlier than later relocating to Ayr on Scotland’s south-west shoreline. Over the century which adopted, his mills would go on to craft cashmere for quite a few luxurious homes and types – throughout each style and homeware – earlier than Begg x Co, the mill’s eponymous label, was based in 2013 (initially it was referred to as Begg & Co, earlier than a latest rebrand). The superlative closing product is the results of true experience: a single cardigan can take 20 individuals and 19 processes to finish, with any errors taking it again to sq. one.

With loads of competitors – together with Johnstons of Elgin, Pringle of Scotland and Barrie, which is owned by the Chanel group – Seward says she needs to make Begg x Co ‘the go-to luxurious model for Scottish cashmere’. ‘Visiting the woven mill in Ayr was unforgettable,’ she tells Wallpaper*. ‘I might really feel an actual spirit. All people appeared so blissful and keen to clarify how they labored. The extent of workmanship is phenomenal, as is the equipment: from the standard pure teasel gigs used to create the Arran scarf’s ripple end, to extremely superior, trendy expertise.’

Her A/W 2025 assortment, which marks her debut as inventive director and arrives in shops this month, recreates timeless silhouettes in cashmere – from easy A-line attire to ladylike rib skirts and enveloping capes. Extra ‘arty’ thrives are available Nineteen Fifties-style cardigans knitted with ombré stripes (for tactility, every panel is outlined with raised saddle stitches), mother-of-pearl buttons and a painterly use of color, from daring denim blue and ’faculty’ pink to delicate rose pink and earthy browns and greys. Certainly, such strokes of color have lengthy been a Begg x Co hallmark: ‘daring color associations are a signature of Begg x Co, you’ll be able to usually recognise a Begg x Co tartan by the arrogance of its palette,’ says Seward. ‘It’s a defining ingredient of the model’s id that I wish to discover.’

For males, she has created a line-up of knitwear necessities: an army-inspired crew-neck sweater is gently sloped throughout the shoulder and knitted to seem like tweed, light-weight cardigans and V-neck sweaters are designed to be layered, whereas a play on the basic rugby shirt arrives in vivid stripes of emerald inexperienced and blue. Seward says she designed the A/W 2025 assortment by ‘intuition’, creating ‘long-desired items I had been dreaming of – a flattering lengthy skirt in interlock cashmere or in a knitted herringbone rib to put on all winter lengthy with boots. A twin-set composed of an extended costume and a cape.’

At coronary heart, her philosophy for Begg x Co is to create items that final: she cites the ‘purchase as soon as, purchase properly’ mantra of King Charles as a motto to work by (her personal beloved Begg x Co buy is the light-weight ‘Wispy Hanover’ scarf – ‘it by no means leaves me, summer time or winter, it’s at all times on me or in my bag’). ‘I favor investing in a single superbly made piece that turns into a everlasting addition to my wardrobe,’ she says. ‘I additionally care very a lot in regards to the craftsmanship concerned, the way it was made. [It’s why] I’m very proud to work with Begg x Co. It’s luxurious as I dream it.’