Island luxe: Inish Meáin knits a global success

Sports coats for men are dead and jackets are making a huge comeback, so says Tarlach de Blacam of Inis Meáin knitwear, the Irish island company described by designer retailer Mr Porter as the “world’s most remote fashion label”.

“As men’s dress gets more casual, but elegantly casual, it’s all about knitted jackets,” adds de Blacam, a view echoed by leading Italian menswear designer Maurizio Baldassari.

Cniotáil, Inis Meáin’s latest winter collection, features eight knitted jackets – a storm jacket, a relax jacket, a high V jacket in two qualities, a carpenter’s jacket, a reverse carpenter’s jacket, a farmer’s jacket and a shirt jacket in two qualities “with lots more styles, colours and colourways in varied stitches and qualities”, he says.

Selling in the most sophisticated menswear shops all over the world – the US, UK, Germany, Austria, Sweden, Switzerland, Japan, Canada, France, Italy, Australia and most recently in Shanghai, Inis Meáin knitwear’s wide appeal can be attributed to a new generation of young men in major metropolitan capitals who are starting to spend money on quality, rather than fast fashion, and appreciate its modern design, its provenance and luxury yarns.

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“The Chinese are now looking at small, quality artisan European producers rather than brands,” de Blacam notes.

Island life and workwear continue to provide the inspiration for this sophisticated knitwear, clothes originally made to withstand the rigours of its everyday life reimagined for stylish modern cosmopolitan wear. “We have been mining workwear for the past 20 years, looking at it in new and different ways – looking at old photographs, talking to knitters and looking at weaving – weaving was strong here and there was a weaver and a tailor on every island,” says de Blacam.

A new take this season on its popular carpenter jacket, which was drawn from an original found on the island, is the reverse carpenter jacket. Made in a mix of cashmere and merino and a comfortable alternative to a classic workwear staple, the chore jacket, it features the intricate interior details on the outside – after de Blacam was asked by Maxwells, a well-known menswear store in Falmouth, Massachusetts, to do it in reverse “so they could have it both ways”. Both are now in again for winter 2021 and already best sellers.

This handsome knitwear pushes design and modern machinery to their limits – “the skills of finishing a garment are enormous” de Blacam explains, the craftsmanship recently impressing US actor Patrick Dempsey, star of Grey’s Anatomy, who visited the island this year after falling in love with the sweaters he bought in Dublin from Louis Copeland.

Fishermen’s sweaters that embody the fearlessness associated with the dangers of such a hazardous occupation seem to explain their rugged appeal to a modern generation of city dwellers. “What interests me most about workwear”, says de Blacam, “is the restrained use of pattern. Sunday Best is what we call the white Aran sweater traditionally worn by angelic children for their first communion – everything else that was knitted [by the island women for their menfolk] was restrained.”

The patterns have their own names like beairtiní, meaning little bundles, which features on the yoke of one popular sweater. One of the most significant is called corran meaning crooked sickle, a zigzag pattern from old fishermen’s sweaters.

“We have used this extensively in one sweater and bordered it with 8x6 ribbing, so it is more like a tunic. The patterns emulate those of stone walls, correctly described by Liam O’Flaherty as fences. Sean Scully described those stone fences, the inspiration for all his work, as high art.”

Despite Covid, this has been a significant year for sales. “What is really driving growth is that we made a conscious decision to go way up into high-value cashmere from an Italian mill called Filati Biagoli in Montale which produces magnificent yarns and that is a huge part of this collection. It does mean that our products have become quite expensive, but if you just invest in one piece, you have it for life.”

Its online business is also thriving, boosted by Covid, though it is capable of offering only 15-20 pieces on its own site – that varies in others. “We have doubled online sales, but we are sold in some really beautiful online stores like Mr Porter and Matches as well as huge stores like Bergdorf Goodman and Todd Snyder in Madison Square in New York and the Hamptons. We are producing big orders and turning down others all the time.”

Everything is designed and made on the island, but the luxury yarns, including silk and supergeelong wool (wool taken from the first clip of the Australian sheep) are imported, though de Blacam would welcome using Irish wool – “we would be delighted to use it” and is already in talks with Chris Weineger of Donegal Yarns about a development project.

Inis Meáin has also been working with the knitwear design students at the University of Ulster who have three interns on the island this year. “These kids are the only people who give me some hope [for the industry]. One wrote to me recently saying that being here was the most magnificent experience of her career,” he says.

Forceful and determined, de Blacam has proved how a combination of sophisticated design, heritage and craftsmanship forged on the outermost fringes of Europe has driven its hard-won international success. “I hate fashion. I love elegance. What we are offering is something special, different and elegant which is not fashion. These are jackets for a lifetime.”

The company’s address on the island is Carrowlisheen which means the small fairy fort. That’s where the magic happens.

In Dublin, a good selection from this 50-piece winter '21 collection can be found in Louis Copeland and later in the year in Brown Thomas. In Belfast, find it in Andrew Watson. Find some pieces online from inismeain.ie and other luxury online shops. Cleo's in Kildare Street also sell some Inis Meáin knitwear.