“Smile through even the worst situations”, Jack Brodie

Noblivity Spotlights Emerging Designer Jack Brodie

Company/Designer Name:  Brodie Cashmere / Brodie designed by the whole Jack Brodie team!

Design Background of the Range:

There has been so many design inputs that it would be hard to talk about just one designer as being behind the Brodie range! The design background of the range incorporates so many individual contributions, it is best to talk about the story of the development of the Brodie range!

Brodie’s Scottish heritage, coupled with the finest Mongolian cashmere and our Italian design team made the perfect ingredients to unique and wearable cashmere garments.

Using the traditional skills passed down by generations from the borders of Scotland, to the steppes of Mongolia, we have a passion for producing the finest quality cashmere garments that our customers know and love.

Our product has the heritage of Scotland, gained through generations of experience, whilst the steppes of Mongolia is where we found the finest raw cashmere and  traditional skills of over 300 knitters to produce the quality garments that are exported around the world today.

Our Brodie products are not just the work of technologists, they are the product of artisans who have years of experience in the knitting of cashmere.  Brodie is a product which is a reflection of the land that it comes from and the people who created it.

Italy is known for its passionate people, magnificent cuisine and its eye for design.   It was in this vibrant country that we began working with our friend Jess Carlucci in the design of the latest range of Brodie cashmere, using a marriage of the classical skills of the past with the modern designs of today.  The Brodie cashmere range reflects the style and quality of the best Italian design whilst maintaining the timeless look and feel that has ensured that cashmere has a distinctive style all of its own.

How did you get started?                  

Jack Brodie had been working with cashmere all his life; creating luxurious cashmere garments for other people. With his years of experience, knowledge of the finest cashmere raw material, and with Jess Carlucci’s design inspiration assistance, it was decided that Jack was to create his own cashmere range. So in October 2009 Brodie was designed to bring great cashmere to people at a price they can afford, without compromising on quality.

What inspires your designs?

Our designs are inspired by literally anything! Italian culture, Mongolian history, Scottish weather! We strive to give people what they need and what they desire in one of the world’s finest raw materials.

How would you describe your design style, design signatures and who is your targeted customer?

Brodie is a fresh and innovative take on cashmere. The range incorporates both classical pieces and contemporary fashion designs in 100% cashmere.  Unique to Brodie is our ability to offer light weight cashmere pieces which allow for all year wearability.   

Brodie aims to target all kinds of women who love cashmere and share our passion for bringing a really great cashmere product to people at a price they want to pay.

Each piece in the ladies autumn-winter 2010-2011 collection is named after our closest friends and family; the Jessie Hug, the Becky Knit, the Kimmy cardy, the May Bolero, the Fabby Gabby….. We wanted to create something that any woman can enjoy, irrespective of age and size.

What designers inspire you?

All designers offering amazing products but at an affordable price!

What obstacles did you have to overcome?

Given Brodie’s Scottish roots, Italian designers and Mongolian raw material it was difficult putting together the range! All the small details to make the garments that extra bit special had to be understood in 3 different languages and communicated across various time zones! Photos and Skype were our lifesavers!

How did you overcome them?

A few cups of tea, late night conference calls, and the whole team supporting our Brodie mission helped us all to get the range together in time to launch at Pure London this February!

What has been your greatest moment on your journey so far?

When the range arrived into our UK office and to suddenly realize that the whole thing was real and we actually had a range together! Looking at our creation and feeling so proud of the whole team was an amazing sensation!

What has been the biggest change in your designs so far?

We always wanted to offer cashmere at affordable prices without compromising on quality or design. We also wanted to ensure our cashmere had all year wearability, and not just limited to the cold winter months! So we recreated our designs into a light weight version allowing us to achieve these goals.

If money were no object what would you do right now?

We would give everyone who helped us every piece of the range in every colour to show our appreciation for their time, effort and patience!

What are the best and worst things about being a designer?

The uncertainty that you are doing it right but then having the collection before your eyes and realizing that it came out better than we ever expected.

Describe your typical day?

The only certainty of the day is that we all have at least 10 cups of tea and answer a bombardment of emails from Italy and Mongolia because our day before late night emails did not make any sense!

What’s your philosophy of life?

Smile through even the worst situations, keep your calm and deal with problems calmly and consistently.

If you could do it all over again, what would you do differently?

We would give ourselves more time to create the range, and gather all the team together in one country to discuss the range.

When will you know you have made it?

Oooo- Maybe when we are on the cover of a magazine? But even to overhear a group of people discussing and recommending the Brodie range would be a pretty awesome feeling!