Vixy Rae is one of the owners and the creative director of Stewart Christie, an old established outfitter in Edinburgh which mainly works in tweed. Recently she invited some of her friends down to Custom Quay in Leith for a photo shoot – which was all about tartan.
It turns out that she has just completed writing a book and these photos were being taken to complete the final pages of it. The book will be out later in the year and will be published by Black and White Publishing in October.
Tartan’s status means we all have a relationship with Scotland’s famous fabric, but how much do we really know? The Secret Life of Tartan goes behind the scenes – and beyond the kilt – to stitch together never-before-heard stories, fascinating anecdotes and historical gems.
From supermodels to clan patriarchs, from New York’s Tartan March to classic wedding finery, tartan transcends boundaries. Stunning images show a different side to tartan, celebrating the romance and style of a cloth that shaped a nation. This landmark book is a visual guide to the poetry of tartan, looking at the dark past of the most majestic of cloths. It covers the types and styles of tartan, exploring colour and craft, texture and cloth, viewing aspects of sustainability, from the handing down of kilts to the lost art of vegetable-dying yarn.
It features the people behind the cloth: families, weavers and designers, mixing tradition and heritage with the contemporary. From the shortbread tin to the catwalk, regal palaces to highland bothies, The Secret Life of Tartan showcases tartan’s dramatic diversity and outstanding heritage.
Publisher: Black and White Publishing
ISBN: 9781785302596
Number of pages: 256
Dimensions: 196 x 249 mm
Here is Vixy (along with some of her friends) telling us the story of their relationship with tartan :
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
