Scarves for 2024 'Disturbing the Peace' Award
Every year the NYC-based Vaclav Havel Center (VHC) confers the Disturbing the Peace award to one or more writers at risk. The recipient of last year's award was the renowned novelist, Sir Salman Rushdie. This year, VHC commissioned us to weave 12 Havel tartan scarves for two award winners—Booker Prize-winning author Arundhati Roy and jailed Iranian rapper Toomaj Salehi—as well as for renowned human rights activists, including Martina Navratilova and Peter Gabriel. We are humbled and honoured to contribute to this vital cause!
About the Havel Tartan
The Havel tartan portrays an endless succession of prison cell windows struck through in red, protesting the persecution and imprisonment of writers of conscience in the knowledge that free expression is an essential component of every healthy society. It is named in honour of Vaclav Havel, the dissident playwright and co-author of Charter 77, the landmark human rights declaration for which he was imprisoned for several years, only to lead the ‘Velvet Revolution’ that peacefully overthrew communism and installed him as president.
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PLAYFULLY SERIOUS PROTEST SINCE 1781
Once, I wore a kilt to a climate protest—just for the hell of it—and it changed my life. A wild and woolly Scotsman stopped me on the street and said, 'Aye, that’s what this movement needs—its own clan tartan!' It was none other than Loftus McLeod of Skye, the legendary freedom fighter who founded the Liberation Kilt Company to fight 18th-century injustices, earning him the 'Dissident of the Year Award'. Inspired by his example, a group of us were arrested on Capitol Hill for protesting the gutting of the Waxman-Markey climate and energy bill by the fossil fuel lobby....
A seed is planted.
Sitting in a DC jail, I realized that Loftus was right—what our fractured movement needed was a unifying symbol that anyone could wear, regardless of what group they belonged to: a traditional tribal tartan, but with a modern twist.
And so, we resurrected the Liberation Kilt Company and designed a climate change tartan in honour of Dr. Charles Keeling, the climate scientist after whom the iconic Keeling Curve is named. The Keeling tartan was worn at COP26 by the World Wildlife Fund delegation, including Eliud Kipchoge, the world champion marathon runner.
Greta Thunberg owns a Keeling-clad WWF panda, one of hundreds scattered around the globe.
Growing the collection.
We went on to design tartans against human trafficking (Blueheart tartan), the persecution of writers (Havel tartan), nuclear proliferation (Yamaguchi tartan), inequality (Liberty Square tartan), despotism (Tahrir tartan), water scarcity (Agua tartan), with more designs in the works.
The Rebel Tartan Project
Founded in 2015, the Rebel Tartan Project empowers art and fashion students to confront global issues in radically creative ways. Under the leadership of Juliana Sissons, with amazing support from Arts Thread, UN House Scotland, and other partners, the Rebel Tartan Project has gone from strength to strength. Browse the amazing portfolios of students from the UK, Japan, China, and India, and check out the sensational exhibition hosted by Bunka Gakuen University in Tokyo, Japan.
What drives us.
Marta Gramaccioni, the buying director of Florence-based fashion house Luisaviaroma—says fashion is losing its edge. ‘We feel less free to take risks, less excited about buying products that are not only meant to dress people but also to define them,’ she laments.
But not all of us want to be defined by designer brands. Increasingly owned and controlled by huge corporate entities with one-track minds, these brands all take themselves far too seriously, yet the issues, not seriously enough.
We see a huge opportunity to use fashion—the most immediate and personal form of self-expression—as a catalyst for change. For those who care deeply about the issues—and still have a sense of humour—we offer an alternative.
This year, the Vaclav Havel Center commissioned us to weave 12 Havel tartan scarves for winners of the 2024 Disturbing the Peace award—Indian writer Arundhati Roy and jailed Iranian rapper Toomaj Salehi—along with renowned human rights activists including Peter Gabriel. We are humbled and honoured to contribute to this vital cause.
Online store launch.
With fifteen years of art and activism under our belt, it’s high time we opened our store. We'll be launching a quirky collection of organic T-shirts featuring kilted skeleton Ben Nevis (a big hit with Oxford University students), along with hand-woven scarves, bespoke kilts, handcrafted jewelry, and more.
We offset shipping emissions by donating a portion of each sale to carbon removal start-ups, such as Grassroots Carbon, reinvest a portion of our profits in the Rebel Tartan Project, and donate to partner charities.
Destination retail concept.
Imagine an eclectic space combining clothing and accessories, working looms, bespoke tailoring, readings and workshops, screenings and performances, a café/bar, and more—an place for like-minded people to gather for a truly catalytic experience. It’s on the drawing board, and if you sign up below, we'll be sure to keep you in the loop!
Giles & Loftus, Co-Founders
Liberation Kilt Company | giles(a)liberationkilt.com
