Johnstons of Elgin

Johnstons of Elgin is a luxury fashion brand that has woven in the same Scottish mill since 1797, with its process split across an Elgin weaving mill and a Hawick knitting mill. That vertical, heritage craftsmanship is what you are paying for, and it shows in the finish of a scarf or knit. For a piece you intend to keep and wear for years, it tends to justify the outlay.

Johnstons of Elgin sits in the heritage-luxury cashmere space alongside names like Loro Piana and Brora, but with a distinctly Scottish character: classic, durable pieces from its own mills rather than the ultra-soft Italian style. Tellingly, it actually supplies the luxury industry, weaving for houses including Hermès, Chanel and Louis Vuitton. So you are buying from a maker the big names themselves rely on.

It is best known for luxury cashmere and woollens — scarves, knitwear and accessories — and for its Estate Tweeds. The brand holds three royal warrants of appointment for the manufacture of Estate Tweeds, Knitwear and Woven Accessories. Scarves and knits are the most accessible entry into the house.

Everything is made in Scotland across two mills: a vertically integrated weaving mill in Elgin, where it has been headquartered since 1800, and a knitting mill in the Borders town of Hawick, bought in 1980. The Elgin site remains the only vertical weaving mill still operating in Scotland. That "made in Scotland" provenance is central to the brand.

Johnstons of Elgin was founded in 1797 in Elgin, Scotland, by Alexander Johnston. It soon moved to a small mill called Newmill on the banks of the River Lossie, where it remains today. By 1811 the mill was already vertically integrated, handling carding, dyeing, spinning, weaving and finishing on site.

Estate Tweeds were introduced in the late 1840s as a form of camouflage for country estate workers. Johnstons wove its first Estate Tweed in 1845 and wove the first Super Balmoral for Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in 1853. It has held a royal warrant for Estate Tweeds since 2013.

Cashmere arrived through Alexander's son James Johnston, who joined the business in 1835 and introduced rare luxury fibres: Australian Merino in 1847, vicuña in 1849 and cashmere in 1851. That same year the company exhibited at the Great Exhibition at the Crystal Palace in London. This is the root of the brand's reputation for fine fibres.

It remains a British family-owned business. After being sold in 1920 to Edward Stroud Harrison — who had joined in 1904 as a designer — it is today co-chaired by his great-grandchildren, Neil and Jenny Urquhart. So the company stays in private, family hands rather than a luxury conglomerate.

It has been a certified B Corporation since 2023 and was a founding member of the Sustainable Fibre Alliance in 2015, working with Mongolian cashmere goat-herders on sustainable grassland management. It also sources Merino only from Responsible Wool Standard certified suppliers and won the Queen's Award for Enterprise in the Sustainability category in 2021. Sustainability is a stated, certified part of the business.

Some pilling is normal with natural cashmere, especially early on, and gently de-pilling with a comb or cashmere stone actually improves the surface over time. Hand-wash or use a wool cycle with cashmere-friendly detergent, dry flat rather than hanging, and rest the piece between wears. Cared for this way, a well-made Scottish cashmere scarf can last for decades.