Thanks to the power of social media, Clash can proudly tell you that Tiger of Sweden was shooting its AW14 collection ‘about an hour ago’.
Last week they presented the same collection at Stockholm Fashion Week, and in October they opened their debut British store in London’s Piccadilly. The latter we know as we attended the opening.
Somewhere in-between all this – and with the label’s 110 year history and long line of employees in mind – Scottish born designer Ronnie McDonald suggested that the label was like a clan, their kinship defined by their place of work.
A passing thought perhaps, but for the powers that be something clicked; the idea was picked up and today the clan has its own tartan, the real mark of such a club.
First woven on a handloom by Dennis Harris at London Cloth Co, the pattern was later registered at The Scottish Register of Tartan’s as Tiger’s Official Tartan; 100 jackets, 100 scarves and six kilts have so far been produced.
Not ones to take a new tartan lightly, we grabbed five minutes with McDonald to talk it over.
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How long have you worked at Tiger of Sweden?
I have been designing the menswear tailoring for Tiger for seven years.
What’s the best thing about the clan?
Creative freedom and their legendary rock and roll parties.
What do ‘roots’ mean to you?
This project was all about my roots, clashing my Scottish roots and tradition with my new Swedish roots – I have been living in Stockholm with my Swedish wife and our two sons Miles and Skylar for 14 years – so it was fun to give something back to a country which has given me so much.
How would you define Tiger of Sweden?
Tiger is the perfect mix of over a 100 years of tailoring heritage clashed with a nonchalant rock and roll attitude.
As a Scotsman, what doe it mean to you that Tiger of Sweden has its own tartan?
I think its really cool that I got the opportunity to design something that will hopefully become part of Tiger heritage.
A tartan for Spring Summer could be considered an odd choice, would you agree?
For me tartan is more a season, less garment, used whenever you are in the right mood to wear it.
What occasion are you saving your Tiger of Sweden kilt for?
I don't need a special occasion to wear my kilt, I wear it when I want to party, and I always seem to have a great night when I wear it.
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