A Summer on Speyside fuses whisky and fashion

A Scotch whisky distillery and a Scottish menswear designer have teamed up for a partnership which celebrates their creative approaches to design and whisky distilling.

Kestin Hare’s Spring Summer 2019 Collection features five different garments inspired by the whisky, landscape and architecture of the BenRiach distillery in Speyside.

Hare has teamed up with Scottish mill, Halley Stevenson, to develop traditional peat dyed and garment dyed products, representing the unique colours of aged BenRiach Speyside Single Malt Whisky.

Dundee-based Halley Stevenson has garment dyed the Shop Coat to colour reference two expressions, the peated BenRiach Curiositas Aged 10 Years and unpeated four cask matured Aged 21 Years.

The new SS19 Collection, A Summer on Speyside, tells the story of childhood summer holidays spent around this unspoilt area in North Scotland which is known for its world famous whisky distilleries and fly fishing.

The Scottish countryside-inspired collection is focused on functionality using water resistant fabrics and details influenced by golfing and fishing attire. The colour palette is made up of soft tones of golden sand, peat, grass green and navy with deckchair stripes and rip stop nylons.

Illustrated thistle and abstract whisky cask prints on technical fabrics challenge the preconceptions of traditional Scottish
design.

The collection is now in store, online and in selected global retailers now, after the launch at Kestin Hare’s Shoreditch store last week, where BenRiach Master Blender, Dr Rachel Barrie hosted a tasting with guests on the BenRiach expressions featured in the collection.

Founder Kestin Hare said: ‘I’m a big fan of weaving in Scottish heritage into my collections, and when I went to visit BenRiach distillery I was so charmed by the process, the whisky, the people and the location, it gave me lots to play with. It was particularly poignant to create this collection in the 120th year of this unconventional Speyside distillery celebrating its rich past but also its innovative future.

‘I think we have developed a high impact capsule collection which reflects real depth and meaning to the story. The colours and textures are beautiful and the garment dyed element ensures that every garment has a unique finish which I think is a nice touch.’

BenRiach Distillery Master Blender Rachel Barrie added: ‘At BenRiach we have been exploring the creative possibilities of our Speyside
malt for decades. Driven by a creative approach to whisky distilling, cask maturation and blending, all in the pursuit of flavour, we are delighted to join forces with Kestin Hare menswear to create experimental, hand-crafted, whisky inspired products which were created in our 120th anniversary year.

‘The products are inspired by our eclectic mix of cask types and two of our distinct styles of Scottish whisky, heavily peated Curiositas Aged 10 Years and four cask matured Aged 21 Years non-peated.’

Kestin Hare is a Scottish menswear brand inspired by what men want for everyday modern life, proud to seek out only the best fabrics and champion UK quality manufacturing.

The brand was launched in 2014 by Kestin Hare when he returned to his hometown of Edinburgh. There are two stand-alone stores in London and Edinburgh, with the head office and design studio attached to the rear of the Edinburgh store based in Leith at Custom Lane.

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