Culture

Scottish kiltmaking: Knowledge, practice, and potential for Protected Geographic Indication

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Abstract

The Scottish kilt is one of the world's most renowned cultural garments, and the Highland Dress industry contributes £350 million annually to the Scottish apparel industry ("Licensed to Kilt," 2009). However, outsourcing and deceptive marketing tactics have negatively impacted the kiltmaking industry (XXX, 2014). The purpose of this dissertation study was to investigate Scottish kiltmakers' knowledge and experiences as a basis for industry protection. A qualitative, phenomenological method employed interviews, observations, video and artifact analysis, and prototyping to understand participant's (n=17) experiences with learning and practicing kiltmaking. Findings indicated that: (a) kiltmakers' experience life-long learning through Scaffolding, (b) kilt customers are not well-informed of quality issues between genuine Scottish kilts and imports, (c) gender plays a role in pay inequality, lack of respect, and quality of life issues for female kiltmakers, and (d) kiltmakers agree that protection is necessary, however, they are unsure of how it would be realized.

How to Cite:

Loranger, D., (2017) “Scottish kiltmaking: Knowledge, practice, and potential for Protected Geographic Indication”, International Textile and Apparel Association Annual Conference Proceedings 74(1).