We showed our Knitwear at Dressed to Kilt in New York!

We’re still a bit in shock, honestly.

Three months ago, an invitation landed in our inbox for Dressed to Kilt 2026 in New York and we were shocked! We were working away as usual and we were being asked to show our sweaters at one of Manhattan’s most exclusive fashion events. We read it about five times just to make sure it was real!

We’ve been running Bill Baber Knitwear from Edinburgh for 50 years. We’re not used to invitations from New York. We’re used to locals popping in for a catch up, tourists discovering us by accident, the online order from somewhere unexpected. We’re used to doing what we love in this cobbled corner of Edinburgh, making knitwear exactly the way we want to make it. And then this happened!

Our Marcia Jumper in a creamy ecru colour

Dressed to Kilt

For those who might not know, Dressed to Kilt is New York’s premier showcase for Scottish design and heritage fashion. It’s an exclusive event that draws fashion editors, influential buyers, celebrities, and style-conscious New Yorkers who are interested in Scottish creativity. It’s the kind of platform where emerging designers can become international names, and where established Scottish brands prove their worth to the wider fashion world.

What We Decided to Send

When you get an invitation to show at Dressed to Kilt, you can’t just pick any two sweaters! We spent time thinking about what actually represents us. What tells the story of who we are and what we’ve been doing for the last 50 years.

We knew that we wanted to use Scottish Wool pieces for this show, how could we not?! We’ve used Shetland Wool off and on during our 50 year history and reintroduced it to the collection in 2025. Shetland Wool is an incredibly natural and sustainable fibre and is world renowned for its fineness and warmth. The wool we use is hand sourced and, to make sure that nothing is wasted, the coarser parts of the fleece are used for carpets and mats. We took our time picking a yarn that offers a soft finish and has a gorgeous drape and bounce and we’re delighted with how well it works with our styles, allowing us to make a truly Scottish piece! Made in Scotland, using Scottish Wool from Scottish Sheep!

The Grouse Kintyre Jumper was an obvious choice for us. That fiery rich colour, the colour of Scottish moorland, the bird it’s named for blending in with the scenery. It’s contemporary enough for anyone to wear today, but it’s also rooted in something deeply Scottish. That felt important for New York. We wanted to show that Scottish design isn’t all about nostalgia or tartan tourism. It’s about beauty and craftsmanship that belongs anywhere.

Meanwhile the Marcia Sweater is one of our most popular recent styles, a jumper designed for the female figure with oversized sleeves, a roomy fit and a hem that cuts at the hip. The colour name Gaulmogit, a creamy ecru colour, is a term used for Shetland Sheep markings. The Marcia shape works beautifully in this shade, and honestly, when we were deciding what to send, this one just felt right. It’s the kind of piece that makes a statement without needing to shout.

Both sweaters were made exactly the way we always make them here. We used our lovely Scottish wool, precise knitting, hand-finishing with all the linking done carefully. The kind of detail work that you can only do when you’re not in a rush and you genuinely care about the finished piece.

Our Marcia Sweater knitted in Shetland Wool

The Night Everything Changed

Showing at Dressed to Kilt was surreal in the best possible way. Seeing our pieces presented alongside other Scottish designers, in a room full of New York fashion editors and influential people was an utterly amazing feeling!

It meant that 50 years of doing one thing really, really well was being acknowledged. It meant that you don’t need a multinational corporation backing you to create something world-class. You don’t need celebrity endorsements or massive marketing budgets. You just need skill, dedication, and the refusal to cut corners.

Why This Matters

Honestly, when Helen and Bill started Bill Baber Knitwear, they weren’t trying to build a global fashion brand. They were trying to make knitwear they’d be proud to wear themselves. Knitwear that would last years, not seasons. Knitwear made with materials that deserve respect and techniques that respect those materials.

Dressed to Kilt proved something we’ve always believed: there’s a global audience for authentic craftsmanship. There are people who understand the difference between mass-produced and carefully made. There are people willing to invest in quality over quantity.

The fashion industry talks a lot about sustainability and ethics these days. Mostly it’s just talk. But what we do, making knitwear in a family workshop in Edinburgh, knowing every person involved in the process, using quality materials, hand-finishing pieces properly, that’s not greenwashing. That’s just how we’ve always done it.

New York’s fashion community recognized that. And that means something to us.

What Happens Next

Right now, we’re just focused on what we’ve always been focused on: making excellent sweaters, capes, jackets and cardigans but with a little extra spring in our step after this acknowledgement from Dressed to Kilt. If you want to see what impressed New York then you can visit us here at 66 Grassmarket in Edinburgh. Watch us link pieces right on the shop floor, feel the wool and try on our huge range of garments. Understand why a fashion event in Manhattan decided that a family-run workshop in Edinburgh’s Old Town was worth their time.

Fifty years in Edinburgh. One night in New York. And the work continues, one stitch at a time!