Cashmere label Begg bags a brand refresh

Luxury Scottish cashmere company Begg is set to relaunch during New York Fashion Week this autumn, following a brand refresh by Marque Creative.

The Scottish consultancy, formerly known as Third Eye, has created a brand style aimed at strengthening the textile house’s positioning in the face of competition from countries with larger and cheaper labour forces.

‘The emphasis is on highlighting that this is a Scottish company with a history, which is valuable in terms of the techniques used to make the products, rather than over-stressing the visual heritage of Scotland,’ says Marque group managing director Mark Noe.

According to Noe, the designs – which will be applied to stationery, sales promotion packs, swatch books and a direct mail advertising campaign – have purposely avoided using images of tartan, heather and rolling hills.

The brand marque, which uses a simple typeface and neutral colour palette, will be embossed on to labels and boxes.

The direct mail campaign depicts photographs of the cashmere fabric in bright colours, both as a self-contained image and as worn by models.

The website, www.beggscotland.com, will also be given a new look.

The five-strong Marque creative team, consisting of designer James Groves, art director Helen Germaine, and photographers Lee Mawdsley and Steven Fisher, was headed by lead designer Rhona Findlay.

Marque Creative was appointed in January by Begg’s managing and marketing directors.

The consultancy’s creative work will be first used to showcase the spring/summer 2009 Begg collection at the Coterie fashion show in New York, on 16 September.