The Modern Scottish Tailor
We took some time out with Alan Moore, the bespoke Tailor & Designer who packed up his work and family to move 100 miles away from Glasgow up the west coast to Oban to establish a new style of life in the Scottish Highlands.
Alan, before we get to the present day, tell us how you started out?
I graduated from Glasgow School of Art in 2008 with a degree in textile design and a desire to work for myself. I started my own business, which, at the time, was an expensive hobby. I worked part-time in bars, restaurants, and shops to earn money to buy fabric and rent a small studio space in the West End of Glasgow. This was a creative outlet for me, with little to no focus on making money. I made every garment myself, cutting and sewing into the wee hours of the night and hosting elaborate fashion shows to showcase my work. At this time, there was a powerful creative fashion scene in Glasgow, and a big focus of the Scottish Government was on textile design and export. I was involved in several projects through the Scottish Government, including a trade mission to New York for the annual Tartan Week. My business's early years involved finding myself as a designer and entrepreneur. I tried several approaches to design and generally agreed to anything.
One of the projects that came my way was via one of the Harris Tweed Mills. One of the weavers approached me to design menswear using their fabric. The brief was to create a collection of three men's jackets that were entirely designed and manufactured in Scotland. I designed jackets representing Scotland, each with a unique story and design. Tailors in Glasgow manufactured the jackets, while the cloth was woven in the Outer Hebrides. This was my first taste of real business, working with suppliers and manufacturers and making sales.
While the mill didn't proceed with the jacket project in a partnership capacity, I was granted the design rights and the freedom to sell the product under my brand. This was a significant success, as we began selling jackets made in Scotland from Scottish fabric to customers worldwide.
After the success of the Harris tweed jackets, Johnnie Walker Red Label approached me and asked me to propose a uniform design for their brand ambassadors. We designed a bespoke fabric inspired by the brand's strong identity and history, tailored into jackets and waistcoats. This hugely successful project paved the way for future collaborations with large brands and businesses such as the Caledonian Sleeper, Bruichladdich, and several boutique hotels.
Working with bespoke clients allows me to test out new products and ideas, pushing the idea of what Scottish textiles is and how it's represented across the world.
What is the focus of your business?
Tailoring and menswear were the cornerstone of my business, with a huge focus on the use of fabric. My design background is in textiles rather than fashion; I have always been interested in how colors and textures interact rather than exploring different silhouettes and shapes on the body.
As the business matured, I developed two separate sides: bespoke tailoring and bespoke design. The bespoke tailoring element focused on one-to-one sales with individual clients; we had tailors in the UK who would cut and sew suits and coats, one at a time, using some of the finest Scottish tweeds and cashmere. It was hugely successful and led to us being one of the leading tailoring businesses in Scotland. On the design side of the business, we worked with various garment and accessories manufacturers across the UK to provide bespoke products for companies, such as hotel uniforms and retail products for distilleries and brand homes.
This takes us up to the present day, what’s next?
The tailoring aspect of the business continued to grow, and with that came inquiries for Highland dresses, kilts, and accessories, something I previously needed to gain experience with. As the inquiries came in, I embraced the opportunity to learn more about the Highlandwear business, a journey of personal growth and discovery that I am proud of. Alongside our main studio in Glasgow, I opened a small studio in Oban, on the North West Coast of Scotland. The Highland market is huge in Scotland, and our Oban studio was highly successful, which started my newfound love for all things Highland.
The small studio business in Oban grew into a much larger store on the town's high street. The bespoke design side of the company has niched down into tartan and products made in Scotland. I've since moved to Oban with my family, and we have fully embraced highland culture; my children attend a Gaelic school, taking part in the traditional Mod events. I have recently learned the art of kilt-making, which I bring into my business. We have since closed the Glasgow business and are fully committed to Oban.
How important is it for you to study your location and know what the folks coming to Oban want?
Our business is 80% American. Oban is a tiny but busy town with a huge tourism market. Our business relies heavily on American tourists traveling through Oban who are interested in buying a bespoke handmade kilt or taking home a piece of their heritage from a genuine Scottish store. We offer in-store whisky tastings, know clans and Scottish history, and host small tourist groups. We show customers how a kilt is made, explain what tartan is, and how it became emblematic of Scotland. We aim to give our customers a fantastic experience. Although Oban is a bustling town, it is seasonal, with significant drops in sales from September to March, when tourism drops. To counter this and fill that gap, I planned to visit the States and offer some of the same experiences we do at home.
We are aware about how the Scottish textile industry is perceived overseas, how do you integrate this into your business?
The first visit was to Houston, Texas, a city with a strong network of Scottish ex-pats and Scottish American heritage. Working with Kindred Strategic and Ferguson Whisky, we planned events to entertain guests with whisky tales and tartan trails; whisky tastings were broken up with stories of tartan and tweed. These events were hugely successful, with guests leaving fantastic feedback. From a business point of view, we made several sales on the nights, and two weeks later, we are still getting inquiries from Texans interested in buying kilts and tartan trousers.
Scotland is the spiritual home of golf, and several Scottish golf courses have their unique tartan; this is a massive retailing opportunity, and when it's done well, it can drive pro shop sales all year round. I have worked with several golf courses in Scotland and now in Texas to create their distinct tartan. They use this tartan within their pro shop and brand identity to sell high-quality, made-in-Scotland products.
As I continue to build relationships with US golf courses, this will continue to be a positive trend; Scottish golf tourism is only growing, and the market in the US is similarly strong. Scotland has such a vibrant culture that resonates with many people worldwide, including Americans with Scottish roots. Our high-quality products tell stories people love to relate to: stories of family, landscapes, battles, and journeys.
Houston was a great success, and I'm already planning another visit; I have since been contacted by interested parties in Colorado and other States to host similar whisky and tartan events. The events we host are great for golf and country clubs, business clubs, and private members clubs as they are intimate gatherings that bring together subjects everyone likes: whisky and tartan. There is scope for these events to be tailored to specific clubs or businesses with a vast range of whisky and plenty of American-Scottish links to make; it's a genuine pleasure to bring these stories to new audiences.
"The move to Oban also means I get to live the Scottish lifestyle and nothing gets you focused more on the business end than a walk through the forrest trails or an open water swim. I'm happy with the work/life balance we have found."
What does 2025 have in store for you?
I'm excited for the year ahead, 2025 looks to have some very real opportunities to grow the business in a significant way, with US markets playing a crucial role in that. Working with bespoke clients allows me to test out new products and ideas, pushing the idea of what Scottish textiles is and how it's represented across the world. I get excited by the individuality of each project, very much looking forward to seeing where's next on the journey.
For more information, contact Alan Moore - a.moorekrh@gmail.com