Japan, AW25 Collection. Inspired by our Archive

Our archive is housed in Newmill House, a Georgian building shaded by a centuries-old horse chestnut tree. Above the door, a carved scallop shell reflects the architecture of the time and Elgin’s historic ties to seafaring trade. Once the family home of our founder, Alexander Johnston, it is now the home of a living design resource.

Far from being a static collection, the archive is woven into our design process. We reach into it constantly, studying fabrics, patterns, tweeds, tartans and rare fibres, drawing on more than two centuries of craft to inform what we make today. It is not a record kept for show, but a working tool: a reminder of where we have come from, and a guide to where we go next. Rows of leather-bound books line its shelves, some carefully wrapped in white Tyvek to protect their contents from the surrounding environment. Sarah is our full time archivist who looks after this world, tracing the history that goes back over 225 years. 

Within these volumes lies an ever-evolving record of our work: swatches of tweed, tartan, cashmere and vicuña, each preserved alongside notes of shipments sent around the world. One such ledger, dated 1872, records cloth bound for Japan aboard the ship Ada, with the wry remark to James Johnston: “It seems of late the Japanese have taken to wearing Breeks.”

Though modest, this note reveals something larger, a long-standing affinity between Scotland and Japan, rooted in a shared respect for craftsmanship, material, and attention to detail. At its heart, it speaks of mastery, the dedication to doing one thing well, with patience and integrity. For Johnstons, at the heart of Scottish textiles, this affinity has shaped past and present. 

That moment, rediscovered in our archive, helped inspire our Autumn/Winter 2025 collection. It draws a red thread from heritage to modernity, revisiting the dialogue between our two cultures. Photographed in Japan, the campaign follows this conversation across city and mountain landscapes. In Tokyo, heritage cloth meets contemporary silhouette against the backdrop of Jimbocho’s book district, echoing the curiosity that first welcomed Scottish textiles more than a century ago. In Hokkaido, forests and mountains mirror our own Highlands, while in Shiguchi, kominka homes, with their timber beams and quiet devotion to craft, reflect the same values that guide our artisans in Scotland.

From nineteenth-century shipments of plaid and tartan to garments photographed in Japan today, this collection honours a dialogue between cultures, landscapes, and crafts.

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