Fashion / Bristol Fashion
Heritage fashion flies high
Bristol-based Peregrine Clothing are a classic English Heritage brand, producing high end knitwear and outerwear collections – perfect for our fickle British weather. Each season, Peregrine offer up a range of contemporary Millarian wax jackets, cuddly Merino wool jumpers, cardigans and knitted accessories, using sustainable fabrics manufactured in UK factories.
Peregrine is already a well-recognised name on the international fashion circuit, and often features in high-end fashion magazines and photoshoots. The company did not start life as a fashion brand, but as a manufacturer of high quality, functional clothing over 220 years ago: they even had military socks on their production line during WWI.
is needed now More than ever
Peregrine Clothing as we would recognise it was founded in 1956 by the successful knitwear manufacturers JG Glover in Leicester, and has remained with the Glover family ever since. The current heir to the JG Glover dynasty, and the company’s managing director and designer is Tom Glover, who re-branded the label back in 2006. His was a more youthful vision that he hoped would bring Peregrine Clothing up-to-date with contemporary designs, giving it a cleaner look while retaining a classic feel. Tom also insisted that the company kept its ethos and remained 100% made in England.
“I grew up spending a lot of time with my dad in the Peregrine factory in Leicester,” Tom says. “Having both parents in the fashion industry meant that it was something that I was always surrounded by. I went on to study product design in Cardiff,” Tom continues, “which is where I began to find my own design vision and where I really began to hone in on certain skills. Design is something I have always loved, and the fact that I have been immersed in it since I was so young just gives strength to the fact that we have a real heritage and that Peregrine is first and foremost a family brand.”
Tom moved the Peregrine headquarters to Bristol eight years ago, with a cosy new office and showroom in bohemian Montpelier where Peregrine invite you to pop in for a coffee whilst checking out the latest range. “I was visiting friends in Bristol one weekend, fell in love with the city and bought a flat here that same weekend. The brand, of course, had to follow me here as well, so it was a very impulsive decision. But I think Peregrine sits really well as a Bristol brand, and we are very grateful for our local customer-base. There is nothing that beats walking down the street and seeing someone in a Peregrine knit or jacket!”
Peregrine showrooms in Montpelier
In the showroom, Tom talks through their latest Autumn/Winter 2017 collection, which updates many classic looks, and features a rich colour palette, with tonal colours, muted greys, mustard yellows, khakis and dusky pinks. They stand in vast contrast to the bright colours, festival fashion and streetwear labels that dominate Bristol’s fashion scene.
“The Burnham jacket is one of my favourites,” Tom says. “It takes all the elements of one of our traditional waxed jackets but I have added biker-esque ribbed detailing on the shoulders and created a boxy fit, so the end result is something very fresh.
“Bristol has a real mixture of styles, and we love the fact that we attract such an age range in our customers. People in Bristol are very open to new things and new styles, so it’s great that we have customers from their twenties to their nineties wearing Peregrine. It just goes to show that the garments are timeless and have an interesting story.”
Visit the Peregrine showroom: J G Glover & Co, Unit 1, Montpelier Central Trading Estate, Station Road, BS6 5EE. Open 9am–5.30pm Mon–Fri by appointment only. www.peregrineclothing.co.uk
Read our Fashion Editor’s blog: www.no-debutante.blogspot.co.uk
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