Barbour has announced a takeover of the Saatchi Gallery as part of London Fashion Week, running from 17 September to 19 September.
The exhibition, titled Tartan Reimagined: The Barbour Way, marks a significant moment in Barbour’s 130-year history, according to the retailer.
The takeover follows the fashion brand’s AW25 celebration of its original and authentic Barbour tartans.
It has been inspired by the journey of John Barbour who travelled from Kirkcudbrightshire, South West Scotland, to South Shields, where he opened the first Barbour store in South Shields Marketplace in 1894.
The takeover will open on the afternoon of 17 September with an exclusive press event.
Barbour will then open the Saatchi Gallery’s doors to the public on 18 and 19 September, where visitors can step inside Barbour’s reimagining of tartan through a series of immersive galleries.
The exhibition will take over the ground floor of the Saatchi Gallery, and will begin with “a step back into the origins of the brand and its tartan heritage,” before “celebrating the craft of the AW26 collection”.
It will then lead visitors to look forward to the future of the brand as the exhibition spotlights the winners of Barbour’s Tartan Reimagined competition with the British Fashion Council.
The competition asked students to reimagine tartan in their own style while still staying true to the original Barbour sett.
The exhibition will finish by “celebrating the craft and initiatives that makes Barbour so unique” with a display of re-loved creations.
These will include collaborations with Gucci, Erdem, Glastonbury x Oxfam, Paul Smith and Aardman, and a working example of the South Shields factory with a re-waxing table and a re-loved jacket being made live.
Visitors to the exhibition will have the chance to purchase limited edition event Barbour pin badges.
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