Begg & Co. Re-Launch

One of Scotland’s oldest weaving and cashmere companies is to be given a new lease of life with new designs and a new name. Almost 150 years after launching, the luxury mill – currently the only in Scotland currently producing ‘lightweight’ cashmere scarves – is re-launching under the new title of Begg & Co. In 1866, Alex Begg & Company started off life in the wee town of Paisley (where the iconic pattern gets its name); so it’s surely no surprise the team specialises in offering accessories designed to batter off the cold. From a factory based in the coastal town of Ayr, the company hand crafts scarves, stoles and throws from the finest cashmere, silk and lambswool angora yarns. With a reputation as one of the best, the brand has now opted to bring its expertise and standing into the 21st century. Listening to the philosophy at the heart of its designs, ‘modernising traditional inspiration’, the brand will be unveiling a new website, which is subsequently its first e-commerce shop, www.beggandcompany.com, along with all new packaging and labelling courtesy of Winkreative. Amidst all of this, the company has managed to design two new collections for autumn/winter 2013. Begg & Co.’s in-house design team has sought the creative input of two heavy hitters in the design world, drafting in Angela Bell of Queen & Belle – a cashmere specialist based in Hawick, Scotland’s cashmere capital – and Michael Drake, a long established and celebrated designer of men’s accessories with his design agency, Man Drake. Together, the new designs – dubbed ‘Nagas’ and ‘Shaman’ – act as a visual landmark for the brand. Each design, which comes in a 65% cashmere-35% silk quality, has been inspired by Bell’s fascination with the Nagas Tribe in Northern India, who wear shawls with designs that resemble tartan. Alongside the already popular Nagas green colour way is an additional range of solid colours, checks and tartans, two-toned dark and light denims, and a modern, reworked camouflage print, which is available in a cool, lightweight ‘Urban Camo’ scarf that works perfectly as a unisex accessory. Begg & Co. prices start at £85 and go up to £1,275 at UK stockists: Joseph, Trunk (London, Marylebone), Monocle, Fortnum & Mason and beggandcompany.com. Internationally, Begg & Co. can be found in Japan, Korea, USA, Italy, Germany and Belgium.