COLHAY’S

The heavy-weight knitted cardigan made in Scotland

October 4th, 1853, the Crimean War broke out and tore Europe apart. The Turkish, French and English belligerent forces unite against Russian expansionism. Considered as the first real "modern war" in history, it allowed the massive use of new technologies such as steamships, the telegraph, rifled guns and especially photography. The first war photographers – the ancestors of war reporters – were born from this war, thanks to Roger Fenton and James Robertson. Embarked in his photographic van, Fenton undertook a perilous journey in 1855 towards Crimea. Assisted by his cook and assistant, Marcus Sparling, they crisscrossed the battlefields in his “photographic van” acting as a mobile darkroom loaded with glass material for developing photos. If the war annihilates, it also creates new things. On the battlefield, a clothing opposition took place. James Thomas Brudenell, Lieutenant General of the British Empire and 7th Earl of Cardigan, had the idea of dressing his soldiers in a warm piece of knitwear derived from the military undergarment during the victorious assault on the battle of Balaklava on October 25, 1854. Lord Cardigan had just invented the cardigan.

James Thomas Brudenell, the 7th Earl of Cardigan, known as Lord Cardigan (1797-1868)

Of this military heritage there is not much left – except the possibility of declining it in a technical material – the cardigan is a piece so anchored in the modern stylistic habits, that it became essential in the coherence of certain outfits. That's why today's brands offer their version of the cardigan.

We’d like for you to discover COLHAY'S version, a heavy-weight knitted cardigan made in Scotland in the purest British tradition.

Let's have a closer look.

Interview with the founder, Ronnie Chiu

To understand a brand – especially a young one like Colhay's born in 2019 – we think it is always interesting to turn to the person who founded it. That's why we asked Ronnie a few questions. His vision of clothing is precise and classic, take inspiration from his words!

1. Was Colhay’s born out of frustration you could not find wool garments you were looking for ?

In a way, yes, but the inspiration behind Colhay’s runs deeper than that. My father worked his whole life in the fashion industry, first in menswear in the 1970s then started his own fashion jewelry and accessories business. Growing up, I would visit his workplace and remember seeing piles of fashion magazines on his big oak desk, and thousands of samples hung on walls and strewn across his showroom. As a result, from a young age, my father had a big influence on me style-wise; he was a “cool” dad and dressed immaculately; one of those fathers who always had something to say about the outfit I was wearing and either nodded approvingly or frowned disapprovingly! I remember going shopping together and he’d give me all manner of styling advice, as you’d expect of a father working in fashion. So my love and interest in clothes came from him and it is no surprise that I ended up going into menswear. Perhaps the biggest mark he left on me was his belief in investing in the highest quality clothing, taking care of it for a long time, because it’ll then take care of you.

In particular, he held a strong belief that British made clothing is the highest quality and worth the investment, being somebody who grew up in British colonial Hong Kong. He passed on to me two made in Scotland sweaters that he bought with his first paycheck in the 1970s, in pristine condition after some 40+ years of wear and hand washing. I was so impressed by the quality that I went on a hunt to find the same quality of sweaters that my father spoke so fondly of, but struggled to find that same level of quality of which would, at the same time, designed to flatter the wearer – if the quality was there, the style was not; and vice versa. I eventually found the town in Scotland where my father’s sweaters were made all those years ago. Some of the manufacturers remain, although much smaller, are still making to the same quality as they were when they made my father’s sweaters all those years ago. In fact, one of the factory managers recognized the label on my father’s sweater right away and joked he probably helped make the sweater when he was a young guy 40 years ago!

That’s how Colhay’s was born – the idea is to combine heirloom quality (garments that last a lifetime) with an aesthetic and design that would flatter the wearer. Contemporary, yes, but it’s really about creating garments that last decades, whilst ensuring that they make the wearer look good for the modern age! As a result, I spend a lot of time designing and redesigning the smallest details – how slim the waist or ribbed hems should be, how the collar should sit on a garment. I spend a lot of time also on colours and patterns – to balance between making the wearer look stylish, whilst being elegant at the same time, so that he doesn’t attract unwanted attention!

For example, our superfine lambswool cricket sweater has a v neck trim that is deliberately cut deeper, and also made in very dark burgundy, olive, navy, cream stripes. I believe these design details flatter the wearer a lot more, makes the garment look more modern and relevant, compared to very traditional cricket sweaters with much brighter colours, and tighter, small v necks. Every one of our products in our range follows the same philosophy.

2. We’ve been witnessing a staggering comeback of the cardigan these past 2 years. In what way did you try to change or compose with the « elderly » image the garment has for some people?

Good question! The cardigan is a great garment – it has that nonchalant feel to it. It’s extremely comfortable and just about goes with any outfit. Given this, it is no surprise that the cardigan is a favorite style of ours as well. As I mentioned above, with any product, we want to make sure that the garment flatters the wearer, and there are some design elements that help make the piece look more modern to shake that “elderly” image. For example, with our newest cashmere painter’s shawl collar cardigan, we deepened the v shape of the shawl collar by lowering the buttoning point so that it sits just on the belly button. This exaggerates the inverted v shape from the shoulder to the waist (like a tailored jacket), and broadens the shoulders whilst slimming down the waist. The shawl collar, when folded down, also copies the “lapel roll” you get on a high quality canvassed tailored jacket:

The other thing we like to do is to show people how these garments can be styled as part of a contemporary outfit, for example, the shawl collar cardigan can be layered over a distressed vintage denim jacket:

On your second question below, I would also add that we have a whole section in our website entitled Style Journal where we have done a number of photo journals to give people tips on some great ways to style our knitwear - some of the combinations may not be so obvious but look great in our view: https://colhays.com/blogs/style-journal

3. Where do you draw your inspiration from?

We draw inspiration from a lot of historical garments, many of which were originally created out of function. Most pieces of knitwear once had a purpose that required them to be sturdy, comfortable and long-lasting all at the same time. Often when pieces are redesigned over and over, the functionality can be lost in favour of aesthetics – a lot of the time; we try to bring back that functionality, but making some design tweaks to make it more contemporary.

The merino henley shirt is a good example of this. We took the traditional shape of the original henley shirt with its longer short sleeves, fitted silhouette for a sporty look and the three-button opening on the front. However, we made cut the v neck opening deeper, in contrast to the more rounded opening of the traditional henley shirt, so as to make the overall look more modern.

*Left: Colhay’s extra fine merino henley shirt with deep v neck*
*Right: traditional henley shirt with rounded collar (as worn by British rowing legend Jack Beresford)*

We wrote an article with a few more examples that you can check out: https://colhays.com/blogs/news-and-insights/reinventing-the-classics

4. What is your go-to wool garment for Winter?

For me the superfine lambswool shawl collar cardigan is hard to beat. It is the thickest and heaviest garment in our range, weighing in around 1.2 kilograms, and yet, it is super soft against the skin, because it is made using superfine lambswool (the world’s softest lambswool, with the fibres around 18.5 microns in diameter), and washed in Scottish water for softness. Usually with knitwear, if it is chunky, it is usually rough; if it is soft, it is usually thin and flimsy. With this superfine lambswool shawl collar cardigan, you get the best of both words: chunky yet soft. I love how cosy and comfortable it is, great for wearing indoors and outdoors, and it’s so easy to style – I personally favour a double denim combination with the ecru shawl collar, like this:

Thanks Ronnie!

How do we wear the Colhay's cardigan?

This shawl collar cardigan is made of 100% superfine lambswool from Todd & Duncan's Lamaine, a legendary Scottish cashmere yarn spinner dating back to 1867. Unsurprisingly, the cardigan is made in Hawick, known for its luxury knitwear. It was in Hawick that the “twin-set” concept was developed in the 1930s by Otto Weisz, chief designer of Pringle.

Our ecru cardigan is thick with an extra soft hand, knitted in 6-ply and 3 gauge, it weighs 1.2 kg, a beautiful baby!

We especially like the generous, wrap-around collar. The piece is chunky – we can't stress this enough – but not overwhelmingly so, just right. Colhay's cardigan is reassuring we would say.

The horn buttons are from Italy, two side pockets keep your hands warm, raglan sleeves complete the look. You know our love for raglan sleeves by now, this detail is especially appreciated as it allows unparalleled freedom of movement while flattering a build. A perfect layering piece, this cardigan contains a higher armhole giving the ensemble a more contemporary fit without compromising the look of its wearer.

We like feeling comfortable in our clothes but we still advise you to opt for your usual size. Here Mathieu wears a Medium size. Colhay's sizing is normal.

We like the ecru color for its brightness but Colhay's offers this cardigan in other colors as well such as gray, camel, dark brown or olive.

A historical cardigan with a contemporary reinterpretation

Why choose this shawl collar cardigan from Colhay's? Because Ronnie is an enthusiast who has truly invested time in creating a classic yet contemporary cut. But also because for a ready-to-wear piece, the details present are almost impossible to find elsewhere. Lastly, for this superfine lambswool, absolutely incredible in softness.

We are by nature quite chilly, what better than to wrap ourselves in a soft wool to spend the winter in style?

Colhay's cardigan is a must-have, an indispensable piece in a man’s wardrobe.