Harris Tweed Hebrides has won recognition from fashion leaders for the style and quality of its famous fabric. The Company, based on the Isle of Lewis, has been named Textile Brand of the Year at the 2009 Scottish Fashion Awards.

The sought-after prize, presented at a red-carpet event at historic Stirling Castle in Scotland, is a significant milestone, underling the Company’s work with a new generation of edgy designers. HTH employs more than 40 people at the Shawbost mill and now accounts for more than 90 per cent of Harris Tweed production. Founded only 18 months ago, it produced its first tweed in June 2008.
 
Harris Tweed Hebrides overcame competition from long-established companies on the short list including Johnstons of Elgin, Hawick Cashmere and Pringle of Scotland to win the award, which was accepted by the Chairman of Harris Tweed Hebrides and former UK Trade Minister, Brian Wilson, and the Company's Creative Director, Mark Hogarth.
 
Mr Wilson said: "This is fantastic recognition for everything that has been achieved at Shawbost over the past 18 months.  We were delighted just to be bracketed alongside great companies like Johnstons of Elgin and Hawick Cashmere anyway, but to win the award was totally unexpected."
 
He said that the generic Harris Tweed brand remained "incredibly strong around the world" and that Harris Tweed Hebrides had tried to add value to the brand through collaborations with cutting-edge designers in the fashion, interiors and accessories sectors. 
 
Mr Wilson said: “Clearly the business climate in Britain and elsewhere has been challenging for everyone in the past 18 months, so the Company has remained focused on doing what we do best – producing cloth of exceptional quality and style that reflects a venerable tradition dating back centuries. We want to tell the world that Harris Tweed is still very much alive and doing interesting things.”

Mr Wilson paid tribute to the team at Shawbost, Lewis, and to the Company's principal investor, Ian Taylor. “In in every department, they are absolutely the best people in the Harris Tweed industry. Ian showed faith in the product at a time when all that was visible was a derelict mill.”
 
Mark Hogarth, who has forged collaborations with leading designers and taken Harris Tweed onto catwalks around the world over the past year, said:  "The starting point is that Shawbost produces a fabulous product with a great heritage which is recognised throughout the industry. That will continue to be the main business but step by step we will also build a distinctive HTH brand."

The Company, which is gaining wider recognition for its quality, style and tradition, is working with other firms and individuals who wish to use its tweed in innovative ways.  HTH is committed to letting the imagery and perceptions of the tweed evolve and that is why it is working with younger, emerging designers.

Primarily a wholesale business, HTH nevertheless is developing collaborations similar to its relationship with the designers Deryck Walker and Judy Clarke. HTH is working closely with Graven Images, the Glasgow-based interiors design firm specialising in large hotel projects. An accessories range is also planned, starting with a women’s handbag range.

The awards on 21 June 2009 were sponsored by Vogue magazine and the judging panel included Dolly Jones, Editor of Vogue.com, Brian Rennie, Design Director of Gant, Brigitte Stepputis, Head of Couture at Vivienne Westwood,  Briana Lesesne, Fashion and Beauty Director of Vanity Fair magazine, Hilary Alexander, Fashion Director of the Daily Telegraph, and the model Kirsty Hume.  The panel was chaired by Tessa Hartmann, founder and Producer of the Scottish Fashion Awards.