Dashing Tweeds
Modern urban tweeds, woven in the UK with technical yarns
Luxury positioning, prices accordingly. Fabric sold by the metre or made to measure. No standard ready-to-wear. Shop in Marylebone (London).
Philosophy
Guy Hills, fashion photographer, and Kirsty McDougall, former head of Woven Textiles at the Royal College of Art, founded Dashing Tweeds to reinvent British tweed. Their starting idea is simple and slightly mad - weave 3M retro-reflective yarns directly into luxury tweed so the urban cyclist is visible without sacrificing elegance. The result won over Savile Row, then Nike Labs, then the RISD Museum. A tweed that glows in headlights, woven in the finest mills in the UK. Sport and style, finally reconciled in the same cloth.
History
The story starts with a spousal refusal. Guy Hills, an established fashion photographer, has a tweed suit made and cycles around London in it. His wife asks him to wear a fluorescent vest over it. No way. But the idea takes root: what if the tweed itself could reflect light?
He contacts Kirsty McDougall, a trained weaver and former head of Woven Textiles at the Royal College of Art. Together, they found Dashing Tweeds in 2002 in an East London studio. The concept: modernise tweed by integrating technical yarns - 3M retro-reflective threads, Lurex, rubber, silk, linen, Japanese cotton - while keeping a base of merino and British wool.
They name their signature fabric Lumatwill: a high-visibility tweed that reflects headlights at night while looking like classic cloth by day. The success is immediate with Savile Row tailors.
In 2014, the first shop opens in Mayfair, then moves to Marylebone in 2018. Collaborations follow: Pharrell Williams' Billionaires Boys Club, Fred Perry, Box Fresh, Hudson Shoes, and Nike Labs in Shoreditch, offering bespoke Air Force 1s in their fabrics.
Their creations have entered the permanent collections of the RISD Museum (Rhode Island). Each collection starts as a hand-woven sample on their studio loom, before being produced by the finest British mills. The fabric is sold by the metre to tailors, costume designers and fashion houses, or made to measure in their workshop.
Iconic Products
Lumatwill
The signature fabric - a luxury tweed woven with 3M retro-reflective yarns. By day, a classic colourful tweed. By night, it reflects headlights. Designed for urban cyclists who refuse the fluorescent vest. Available by the metre or made to measure.
Made to Measure Suits
Made to measure suits tailored in their own tweeds. Fabric chosen from the collections, measurements taken in the Marylebone shop. Men's and women's. Tweed worn as it should be - tailored for the wearer.