Interviews
First Ballantyne shop opens in GUM
20 Apr '12
2 min read
The first ever Ballantyne shop opened in GUM, Russia. Men's and women's collections and accessories are now available in a spacious shop decorated with dark wood, marble panels and green glass.
Ballantyne emblem adorns a wall inside and reminds the brand's story. On display are famous sweaters handmade by several craftsmen. The cashmere that made Ballantyne so renowned is also available on the shelves.
The English imported Indian colourful shawls in the 19th century. These shawls were brought from Kashmir valley, so, were called cashmere. It was woven from a soft and thin underfur of Tibetan wild goats.
The yarn is very delicate and very warm but is also very expensive as it is only in the Himalayan valleys that these goats can be found.
In those times the family factory of Henry Ballantyne produced tweed and Scottish chequered fabrics. When Sir Henry found about this thinnest underfur of Himalayas' goats he started to work on it and in 1921 he wove cashmere sweaters.
Scotsmen strictly followed all technological processes. Ballantyne's fabrics quality could arouse envy even of Kashmir princes. But still something lacked in the manufacture. The solution came in 1930 when the Ballantyne factory started to use intarsia technique.
It is handmade mosaic knitting that allowed the creation of the well-known sweaters with rhombus patterns lately known as Argyll and Brilliant. Trains and steamships exported Ballantyne collection to the fashion people around the world. The Queen has several times awarded the company for its achievements in the export markets.
Ballantyne emblem adorns a wall inside and reminds the brand's story. On display are famous sweaters handmade by several craftsmen. The cashmere that made Ballantyne so renowned is also available on the shelves.
The English imported Indian colourful shawls in the 19th century. These shawls were brought from Kashmir valley, so, were called cashmere. It was woven from a soft and thin underfur of Tibetan wild goats.
The yarn is very delicate and very warm but is also very expensive as it is only in the Himalayan valleys that these goats can be found.
In those times the family factory of Henry Ballantyne produced tweed and Scottish chequered fabrics. When Sir Henry found about this thinnest underfur of Himalayas' goats he started to work on it and in 1921 he wove cashmere sweaters.
Scotsmen strictly followed all technological processes. Ballantyne's fabrics quality could arouse envy even of Kashmir princes. But still something lacked in the manufacture. The solution came in 1930 when the Ballantyne factory started to use intarsia technique.
It is handmade mosaic knitting that allowed the creation of the well-known sweaters with rhombus patterns lately known as Argyll and Brilliant. Trains and steamships exported Ballantyne collection to the fashion people around the world. The Queen has several times awarded the company for its achievements in the export markets.
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