Scottish menswear designer Kestin Hare has teamed up with unconventional Speyside distillery BenRiach in a partnership which will celebrate the creative approaches to design and whisky distilling. To mark the collaboration, Kestin Hare’s Spring Summer 2019 Collection will feature 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 the unpeated four cask matured Aged 21 Years.
Hare also took inspiration from BenRiach’s eclectic whisky casks and created a digital cask print in lightweight ripstop nylon featuring on the Torness Parka, Traveller Jacket, Fatigue Short and Storr Pant.
The new SS19 Collection, A Summer on Speyside, tells the story of 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 ripstop nylons.
Illustrated thistle and abstract whisky cask prints on technical fabrics challenge the preconceptions of traditional Scottish design.
The collection will be in stores, online and in selected retailers from March 2019, with a launch at Kestin Hare’s Shoreditch store on Thursday 14th, March where BenRiach Master Blender, Dr Rachel Barrie, will host a tasting with guests of 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.
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.”