The High Life Highland Youth Pipe Band is preparing to march in a brand new tartan designed and woven entirely in the Highlands.
The band will soon perform in the Inverness Castle Experience tartan created by Clare Campbell of Prickly Thistle for The Inverness Castle Experience.
The tartan is currently being woven at Prickly Thistle’s mill in Evanton before being handed to Glen Isla Kilts Ltd for kilt production.
Members of the youth pipe band recently visited the mill to watch the tartan being created on the looms.
The project follows a period where the band has been without kilts after previously using the Edinburgh Military Tattoo tartan for the past 12 years.
Norman Bolton said:
“We wanted to create a new, more relevant identity for the pipe band, having previously had permission to use the Edinburgh Military Tattoo tartan.
“It was an obvious choice to partner up with The Inverness Castle Experience. Clare and the team at Prickly Thistle have been amazing, coming up with a redesigned version of the tartan that will be suitable for making kilts.
“We are now on a fundraising drive to raise money to help pay for the new attire, with some £7,000 to £8,000 required.
“But it’s a worthwhile investment, with these kilts set to kit out our talented young band members for generations to come.”
Clare Campbell said:
“We are currently the only weaving mill in mainland Highland.
“So, when you think about that, and you think about the thousands of pipe bands around the globe, we are weaving kilts for the only band in the whole world who will be performing in cloth that is woven in the Highland Region.
“I think globally there is without doubt an origin story between tartan cloth and what we call the Highland Region today, and to bring this home is such an honour for our whole team of local makers.
“We heard from the High Life Highland music department that they had seen and liked our design for The Inverness Castle Experience, and they were at a perfect point in time to find a new look for all of the boys and girls.
“So for us, these kilts and our association with the High Life Highland Youth Pipe Band feels particularly special because they’re going to be worn by all these local kids.
“We love being the maker of cloth and clothes to be worn by the people we live alongside.
“Our commitment is always local first, despite tartan often seen as something that is wholly for visitors, celebrities or export.
“We are here to break those ‘rules’!”
Amy MacLeod said:
“The Inverness Castle Experience is about telling stories of the Highlands, past, present and future.
“This partnership brings that to life in the most powerful way, with a tartan made in the Highlands and worn by the next generation who will carry our culture forward.”
The new kilts are expected to be ready for an event at the end of June ahead of the band’s planned visit to Schots Weekend in Belgium in September.
To make a donation to help fund the High Life Highland Youth Pipe Band kilts click here
