Pitti Uomo 109: Inis Meáin Ireland’s pivoting with panache

One of the greatest fashion brand pivots of the past few years is Inis Meáin, the Irish marque which has developed into a great supplier of cool casual luxury without losing its earthy roots.

Based in and named after the middle isle of the Aran Islands on the western extremity of Europe, the brand has grown from a label of rustic dense Irish wool sweaters into a purveyor of cashmere and merino while keeping its Celtic charm.
 
“The company was set up by my dad 50 years ago. And after starting off making heavy woollen sweaters for the tourist market, he decided to branch into a higher-end product,” explained CEO Ruairí de Blacam, son of founder, Tarlach de Blacam.

Investing in new machinery, technology and materials, Tarlach was able to maintain a manufacturing plant on the windswept island. Going around the world 50 years ago growing new markets in Japan, Germany and the U.S. Opening lucrative accounts with the likes of Barneys in New York and Japan; Paul Stewart; Bergdorf Goodman; Saks Fifth Avenue and Bloomingdale’s. In short, the best doors in the world, when American department stores ruled the wholesale roost.
 
Cineastes will know the islands from Robert Flaherty’s legendary 1934 ethno-fiction documentary “Man of Aran”, shot on sister isle Inishmore in 1934. And the latest collection manages to balance that hardiness with modern hip successfully.
 
In a second pivot, as the web destroyed the old business model, Inis Meáin smartly evolved into a direct-to-consumer model, a DTC business, which it primarily is today.

One can still find Inis Meáin in destination stores like Liberty in London or Selfridge’s, along with a select few small creative retailers, giving it a global reach of some 150 doors.
 
“But, to keep the business going, we decided to take it online. And we have grown it from about 12% of the business to 55% in this calendar year gone by,” enthused Ruairí. 
 
Disarmingly direct, he admits he has no plans to open a flagship, even in booming Dublin, the obvious destination.  
 
“There’s a reason why Zegna and Brunello Cuccinelli don’t open a shop in Dublin, you need critical mass. You could think of a lot better ways to spend a couple of hundred grand, you know,” he argues at his stand in Florence at Pitti Uomo, the best fashion salon on the planet.
 
These days, Inis Meáin sources most of its yarns from close to Pitti, spun in Prato, the true nerve center of Italian fashion.
 
“The Italians make amazing fabrics. Almost exclusively in winter we work with Filati Biagioli, about 50 miles up the road. They make the most amazing yarns, and we get bespoke colors with an Irish flavor. That Donegal tweed look with neps, those flecks that give it a speckled look,” he explained.
 
Blending on average 30% cashmere and 70% merino means their sweaters have a beautiful hand and feel great on skin. One Inis Meáin bestseller is its Pub Jacket, a term invented by famed Boston boutique owner Murray Pearlstein. A cardigan jacket that seems built to be photographed in front of a fresh pint of Guinness.

“Murray was really good at marketing, and he even took out an ad in the New York Times for our Pub Jacket. So, it’s been in the collection for 40 years now, an iconic piece. Made in a wool and linen mix,” noted Ruairí, of a jacket that would work everywhere from a bar on the Wild Atlantic Way to cocktail hour in Milan or Paris.
 
Inis Meáin shuns synthetics, and often adds linen to summer gear, though even here the source is now from Lithuania or Normandy and not Ulster.
 
That realistic flexibility has guaranteed Inis Meáin’s future and means that its plant on the middle of the island still employs 25 people.  Not bad going seeing as the island population is 180 people. That’s another variation on sustainability – sustaining a community. 
 
The brand’s tagline – “Warmth from the Edge” – still rings very real. And it’s DNA resonates, notably in the stand’s center-point – a fantastic giant black-and-white 1912 photo of a gnarly pipe smoking fisherman with six pre-teen kids in knits woven on the rocky island.
 
It’s price point is very reasonable compared to the likes of Loro Piana or Louis Bompard, ranging from €450 sweaters to €2,000 for jackets, starting with cashmere merino blend beanies at €120. 
 
“Our sweaters are not Sunday Bests. They are often 100% cashmere, so you don’t want to kick them around. But they are made to be worn. You don’t put them in a machine wash. Well, I do… because I run the factory. And if I make a dog’s dinner of it, then that’s okay. I can knit myself another one,” laughed Ruairí , the cashmere king of Connemara.