I feel as if I know what it’s like to have drunk Alice’s ‘Shrink Me’ potion in Wonderland, thanks to an epic road trip that took me from the well-manicured streets of West London to the rugged, wild terrains of the Scottish Highlands.
The sheer scale of the landscape is pretty humbling: humans and cars are antlike, no match for the towering peaks and crags that are the only obstructions to the biggest skies which by day hang heavy with clouds and by night became an inky sea, sequinned by stars.
We wound past shimmering, still lochs and plains of smoky pewter coloured heather, then, around the next bend, took in the bright ochre of deer grass swathing the lowlands. Snaking through Glencoe, flanked by soaring snow-topped mountains, was unforgettably dramatic. You can see exactly why this valley is used repeatedly in films from Harry Potter to James Bond.
And then we were at the foothills of Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in the UK. I hiked, as snow began to fall, past lochs and waterfalls, over brooks and through bracken until my head was quite literally in the clouds. As I reached the mist-crowned summit I celebrated with crunchy, sweet shortbread and the feeling of being on top of the world.
My latest collection is the second of mine to be inspired by the rugged landscape of the highlands, which goes to show how much of an impact this otherworldly place has on me. It’s not only an homage to Scotland with tartans, velvets and herringbones in a variety of colourways that borrow from the palette of the landscape (think Cloud, Thistle, Snow) but it also mirrors the untouched terrain: all of the fabrics are either pure wool, pure linen or pure cotton. And while rooted deeply in a remote and untamed landscape, each material is endlessly versatile, bringing the wilds of the highlands seamlessly into any home.
