From the homeland to the New York catwalk, Dressed to Kilt has been showcasing what is new and exciting about the Scottish fashion industry for

the past decade.

Elegance catches up with Dr Geoffrey Scott Carroll,

founder and chairman of the annual fashion show, who has become a leading ambassador

for making Scotland cool across the water

MakingScotland

cool

W hen he arrived

in New York

City in the early

2000s, Dr Geoffrey Scott Carroll

didn’t know many Scots, despite

having grown up in Peebles.

That’s not to say the pioneering businessman’s

homeland became a distant memory when he left at

the age of 12. But his international career – latterly as

CEO of EDS, then the world’s number one IT services

company – meant his social circle was equally jet-

setting and cosmopolitan.

Such was the pull of the NYC Scottish expat community

that, when Dr Carroll moved there to live, he swiftly

became reacquainted with his Caledonian roots.

What he saw wasn’t all great. Sure, he loved his

newfound group of friends, including former chairman

of Bafta LA, Peter Morris and former director of

communications for Mercedes Benz USA, Geoff Day,

who he playfully considers part of the NYC “Scottish

mafia”.

But Dr Carroll wasn’t as enthused by the Scottish-

themed events which came about each year. So, one

evening in 2002, he and his friends began to cook

up a plan that would ultimately revolutionise the way

Scottish culture and fashion are perceived outside of the

motherland.

“There was nothing going on here that was particularly

novel or leading edge,” said Dr Carroll from his home

in New York.

“So a few of us got together and said ‘what can we do

to promote the best of what’s going on back home?’ We

found Scotland to be a dynamic place, but one that’s not

very well marketed.

“Then I thought, ‘let’s do something that’s particularly

Scottish – a fashion show with great looking blokes in

kilts’. Everyone laughed, but I said that I had a good

feeling about it.”

Words Andrew Youngson

Elegance40 Elegance 41

A_list Celebrities

Thankfully Dr Carroll stuck to his guns, and in

2003 the inaugural Dressed to Kilt fashion show

took place.

First and foremost a charity event for causes in

North America and in Scotland, the fashion show

has since bloomed into the highest profile Scottish

fashion event in the world. It has consistently

sold out to hordes of New York’s glitterati, and

garnered considerable global media interest.

“The show has always been the centrepiece of

Tartan Week. We quickly became the centre of the

press and media coverage to the point where we

now represent 95% of the coverage every year,”

said Dr Carroll.

“Our goal was never to get press back home

in Scotland though. There was never any need

to. Instead we wanted to present a platform to

allow Scottish designers to promote themselves.

The real value was to get coverage here in North

America, and I think we were correct.”

The format of Dressed to Kilt has stayed largely

consistent throughout the decade, though its

themes have changed, bringing a freshness to the

catwalk each year, such as 2013’s China-inspired

show.

Every time the show comes around, New Yorkers

flock to it to see a mixture of A-list celebrities,

luminaries of the business, sports and charity

worlds, plus inspirational everyday heroes don

stunning designs inspired by, and constructed

from, Scottish fabrics. The list of names who

have appeared on the runway or had their work

showcased on it is very impressive, which goes a

long way to explain its enduring popularity. On

the side of the celebs, models have included Sir

Sean Connery, Brian Cox, Gerard Butler, Donald

Trump, Alan Cumming, Mike Myers, Matthew

Modine and Andie MacDowell to name just a few.

The honorary chair people over the years has

been just as high profile, with Keifer Sutherland

just one of a number of high-powered figures to

have given his time generously to help mould the

future of the fashion show.

For the designers, it has been a veritable who’s

who of up-and-coming, and world-leading

designers who have created bespoke items

especially for the event. To name a few, Vivienne

Westwood, Judy Clark, Calzeat & Co, Johnstons

Cashmere, Rebecca Torres and Iona Crawford have

all showcased their cutting edge designs.

those sCots Are Cool

At its heart, Dressed to Kilt is also about charity

and telling stories about inspirational people.

Previous beneficiaries have included Cash for Kids,

The Erskine Hospital, The McConnell International

Foundation and The Wounded Warriors Project.

On one particularly auspicious occasion, social

activist Arun Gandi, grandson of Mohandas

Gandhi, walked down the catwalk arm-in-arm with

Lt. Colonel Martha McSally, the first US female

fighter pilot. The crowd were enraptured and the

photographs were published across the global

media landscape.

“They were two warriors from very different

battlefields,” said Dr Carroll. “It’s moments like

that when you realise how special the show is.”

To remain relevant Dressed to Kilt has had to

remain edgy and interesting – especially to young

people and non-Scots.

“The last thing we wanted to do was a twee,

shortbread tin event,” he said.

“We have always sold out, and this is because we

are a modern glove with a traditional hand. When

you put extremely well known celebrities in a kilt

or a woman in a design from a young student from

Scotland, that’s cool. And the audience love that,

because there’s nobody else doing it.”

While it is heavily steeped in the fashion world,

Dressed to Kilt is in many ways a refreshing

antidote to it.

Dr Carroll said: “Fashion in the States to me is

boring. You go to any normal fashion show, it

lasts about 12 minutes, and is full of emaciated

models going down the runway. That was never

the purpose of our show. It was to promote our

Scottish culture and history, and do it in a sexy,

stylish, cool and hip way.

“So, when people come out of the show, hopefully,

they are saying: ‘My God, those Scots are cool.

Maybe I’ll take a holiday there, or buy something’.”

Actress Andie MacDowell (centre) with her daughters Rainer (left) and Margaret (right)

Colonel Martha McSally, the first female fighter

pilot in US history

Activist Arun Gandhi,grandson of

Mohandas GandhiBilly Connolly

A global

shop window

Calzeat, one of Scotland's leading textile designers

and manufacturers, has been deeply involved in

Dressed to Kilt since 2006.

The Lanarkshire-based company has provided

both fabric and beautifully designed creations for

the runway throughout this collaboration, and

even come on board as a main sponsor.

Calzeat sales director, Bob Galbraith, who flies to

the US at least three times a year to meet with

top designers and the events organisers, said

their involvement in Dressed to Kilt has helped

build Calzeat’s brand in the US and the global

marketplace.

He added: “It helps to raise awareness of the

creative style of our design and is a global shop

window for designers and textile companies alike.

“It helps to promote our cutting edge flair as well

as our more classic traditional qualities which is

what we are more commonly known for.”

Country star, Kellie Pickler

C H A R T E R E D

F I N A N C I A L

P L A N N E R S

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