HIGH TRADITION MEETS HIGH PERFORMANCE

Developed in the 18th century, Tweed was typically made from virgin wool and was only available in earth tones. Weavers added the “twill”, a diagonal line running through the fabric making it dense and perfect for outdoor clothing worn by the aristocracy. The word Tweed came from a mispronunciation of the word Twill.

Our design team explored many tweed textures and patterns discovering an overwhelming variety. Over time we created a virtual Tweed library sorting them by era, pattern and color. Ultimately we settled on a pattern we determined to be a rich texture and a classic representation of Tweed that created a high contrast by limiting the pattern to a light and a dark thread.

We explored traditional earth tone Tweed Color palettes and came up with a range of classic colors. Although we were happy with the classic palette alone we also wanted to incorporate a handful of colors that were more primary for contract applications where a bit of color was needed.

While traditional Tweed was certainly high performance for it’s era it would never stand up the harsh punishment contract and healthcare environments can dish out. Therefore Estate Tweed was developed using 63% Polyester and 37% Acrylic with a stain repellant finish. Estate Tweed withstands 75,000 double rubs.

Creating a rich classic feel at a great value was a high priority for the Estate Tweed project. High tech mill techniques were combined with efficiencies in material usage to keep the price point lower than our original goal.

Our design team worked with production to upholster a variety of shapes to explore how it would perform. Specific upholstery practices were developed for Estate Tweed to ensure precise tailoring techniques across forms.