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From the homeland to the New York catwalk, Dressed to Kilt has been showcasing what is new and exciting about the Scottish fashion industry for
the past decade.
Elegance catches up with Dr Geoffrey Scott Carroll,
founder and chairman of the annual fashion show, who has become a leading ambassador
for making Scotland cool across the water
MakingScotland
cool
W hen he arrived
in New York
City in the early
2000s, Dr Geoffrey Scott Carroll
didn’t know many Scots, despite
having grown up in Peebles.
That’s not to say the pioneering businessman’s
homeland became a distant memory when he left at
the age of 12. But his international career – latterly as
CEO of EDS, then the world’s number one IT services
company – meant his social circle was equally jet-
setting and cosmopolitan.
Such was the pull of the NYC Scottish expat community
that, when Dr Carroll moved there to live, he swiftly
became reacquainted with his Caledonian roots.
What he saw wasn’t all great. Sure, he loved his
newfound group of friends, including former chairman
of Bafta LA, Peter Morris and former director of
communications for Mercedes Benz USA, Geoff Day,
who he playfully considers part of the NYC “Scottish
mafia”.
But Dr Carroll wasn’t as enthused by the Scottish-
themed events which came about each year. So, one
evening in 2002, he and his friends began to cook
up a plan that would ultimately revolutionise the way
Scottish culture and fashion are perceived outside of the
motherland.
“There was nothing going on here that was particularly
novel or leading edge,” said Dr Carroll from his home
in New York.
“So a few of us got together and said ‘what can we do
to promote the best of what’s going on back home?’ We
found Scotland to be a dynamic place, but one that’s not
very well marketed.
“Then I thought, ‘let’s do something that’s particularly
Scottish – a fashion show with great looking blokes in
kilts’. Everyone laughed, but I said that I had a good
feeling about it.”
Words Andrew Youngson
Elegance40 Elegance 41
A_list Celebrities
Thankfully Dr Carroll stuck to his guns, and in
2003 the inaugural Dressed to Kilt fashion show
took place.
First and foremost a charity event for causes in
North America and in Scotland, the fashion show
has since bloomed into the highest profile Scottish
fashion event in the world. It has consistently
sold out to hordes of New York’s glitterati, and
garnered considerable global media interest.
“The show has always been the centrepiece of
Tartan Week. We quickly became the centre of the
press and media coverage to the point where we
now represent 95% of the coverage every year,”
said Dr Carroll.
“Our goal was never to get press back home
in Scotland though. There was never any need
to. Instead we wanted to present a platform to
allow Scottish designers to promote themselves.
The real value was to get coverage here in North
America, and I think we were correct.”
The format of Dressed to Kilt has stayed largely
consistent throughout the decade, though its
themes have changed, bringing a freshness to the
catwalk each year, such as 2013’s China-inspired
show.
Every time the show comes around, New Yorkers
flock to it to see a mixture of A-list celebrities,
luminaries of the business, sports and charity
worlds, plus inspirational everyday heroes don
stunning designs inspired by, and constructed
from, Scottish fabrics. The list of names who
have appeared on the runway or had their work
showcased on it is very impressive, which goes a
long way to explain its enduring popularity. On
the side of the celebs, models have included Sir
Sean Connery, Brian Cox, Gerard Butler, Donald
Trump, Alan Cumming, Mike Myers, Matthew
Modine and Andie MacDowell to name just a few.
The honorary chair people over the years has
been just as high profile, with Keifer Sutherland
just one of a number of high-powered figures to
have given his time generously to help mould the
future of the fashion show.
For the designers, it has been a veritable who’s
who of up-and-coming, and world-leading
designers who have created bespoke items
especially for the event. To name a few, Vivienne
Westwood, Judy Clark, Calzeat & Co, Johnstons
Cashmere, Rebecca Torres and Iona Crawford have
all showcased their cutting edge designs.
those sCots Are Cool
At its heart, Dressed to Kilt is also about charity
and telling stories about inspirational people.
Previous beneficiaries have included Cash for Kids,
The Erskine Hospital, The McConnell International
Foundation and The Wounded Warriors Project.
On one particularly auspicious occasion, social
activist Arun Gandi, grandson of Mohandas
Gandhi, walked down the catwalk arm-in-arm with
Lt. Colonel Martha McSally, the first US female
fighter pilot. The crowd were enraptured and the
photographs were published across the global
media landscape.
“They were two warriors from very different
battlefields,” said Dr Carroll. “It’s moments like
that when you realise how special the show is.”
To remain relevant Dressed to Kilt has had to
remain edgy and interesting – especially to young
people and non-Scots.
“The last thing we wanted to do was a twee,
shortbread tin event,” he said.
“We have always sold out, and this is because we
are a modern glove with a traditional hand. When
you put extremely well known celebrities in a kilt
or a woman in a design from a young student from
Scotland, that’s cool. And the audience love that,
because there’s nobody else doing it.”
While it is heavily steeped in the fashion world,
Dressed to Kilt is in many ways a refreshing
antidote to it.
Dr Carroll said: “Fashion in the States to me is
boring. You go to any normal fashion show, it
lasts about 12 minutes, and is full of emaciated
models going down the runway. That was never
the purpose of our show. It was to promote our
Scottish culture and history, and do it in a sexy,
stylish, cool and hip way.
“So, when people come out of the show, hopefully,
they are saying: ‘My God, those Scots are cool.
Maybe I’ll take a holiday there, or buy something’.”
Actress Andie MacDowell (centre) with her daughters Rainer (left) and Margaret (right)
Colonel Martha McSally, the first female fighter
pilot in US history
Activist Arun Gandhi,grandson of
Mohandas GandhiBilly Connolly
A global
shop window
Calzeat, one of Scotland's leading textile designers
and manufacturers, has been deeply involved in
Dressed to Kilt since 2006.
The Lanarkshire-based company has provided
both fabric and beautifully designed creations for
the runway throughout this collaboration, and
even come on board as a main sponsor.
Calzeat sales director, Bob Galbraith, who flies to
the US at least three times a year to meet with
top designers and the events organisers, said
their involvement in Dressed to Kilt has helped
build Calzeat’s brand in the US and the global
marketplace.
He added: “It helps to raise awareness of the
creative style of our design and is a global shop
window for designers and textile companies alike.
“It helps to promote our cutting edge flair as well
as our more classic traditional qualities which is
what we are more commonly known for.”
Country star, Kellie Pickler
C H A R T E R E D
F I N A N C I A L
P L A N N E R S
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