Trader hits out at £25 'piece of crap' supermarket kilts
By GARETH EDWARDS
A LEADING Edinburgh kiltmaker today launched a furious attack on plans to sell £25 kilts at Scottish supermarkets.
Discount superstore chain Lidl will stock the cut-price kilts from January 21, to allow people on a budget to celebrate Burns night.
But Howie Nicholsby, of Geoffrey (Tailor) Kiltmakers on the High Street, described the kilts as 'a piece of crap', and said the move was a 'slap in the face' to Burns which could destroy the kilt's reputation across Europe.
Lidl said the kilts were being provided by "a Scottish supplier", but could not say where they had been made.
Mr Nicholsby, who has previously hit out at "tartan tat" being sold on the Royal Mile, said there was no way they could have been made in Scotland.
"Burns would be turning in his grave at this, and it is not so much a celebration of his heritage as a slap in the face to it," he said.
"These are nothing more than cheap imports, and it is this kind of product which is doing irreparable damage to the industry.
"A good kilt will last a lifetime but that kind of quality costs.
"Anything on the market under £100 is imported, and anything at that kind of price is nothing but a piece of crap.
"It will fall apart after it has been worn once, but the sad thing is Lidl don't care about that – they think it's a way to make a fast buck."
Mr Nicholsby also suggested Holyrood should appeal to the EU to give Scottish tartan and Scottish-made kilts protected status.
He said: "Currently you get kilts 'designed in Scotland', but manufactured in India, and yet some people will think they are traditional Scottish kilts."
Ken MacDonald, governor of the Scottish Tartan Authority, added that it was important people did not think the cut-price kilt was "the real thing".
"There's a market for this imported stuff which is usually made in India or Pakistan, but it shouldn't be passed off as the real thing made here, which is of a far higher standard," he said.
A Lidl spokeswoman said the kilts were aimed at people who could not afford to buy a traditional kilt, but still wanted to wear national dress for Burns night.
She said: "It is a casual kilt, and I don't think it will have any impact on the business of traditional kiltmakers. This is something for people who maybe can't afford a traditional kilt."
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