24th September 2019
The Rake – Challenging Knitwear’s Maritime Legacy

What keeps any legacy alive is the people who continue to practice it. One venture to preserve and promote Irish knitwear is Inis Meáin, a brand based on the island of the same name, on the west coast of Ireland. While committed to sustaining the manufacturing history of the island, and continuing to learn from the people who represent the history of their craft.

THE RAKE

17th September 2019
Oversized Scarves to Wrap Up In

Yet more rustic sensibility is on offer at Inis Meáin. The Aran-based knitwear specialist has taken inspiration from the island’s claíochaí, or stone fences, for a remarkable blanket (€590) and scarf (€220) in a merino wool/cashmere blend. There’s also the Keating wool jacquard blanket (€390) in reversible white and grey, based on a sketch by artist Sean Keating of a currach (boat) being launched out to sea.

HOW TO SPEND IT

27th August 2019
The Rake – A Billionaire For A Day

“For knitwear, I can’t recommend Inis Meáin enough. Worn by local fishermen since 1976, it is both artisanal work of art and functional body armour all rolled into one. Land lubbers, you need this in your life!”

THE RAKE

10th August 2019
Martin Hayes – On My Cultural Radar

“I’ll go back to the islands again: The Inis Meáin Knitting Company designs these beautiful sweaters with beautiful colours, which they sell to shops all over the world – all from that little island where they design and make the whole thing themselves. It’s quite incredible. The design of the factory and the materials they use are of the highest level. There’s nothing about it that’s stereotypical, yet it’s of its place, and it’s also completely modern. I came back with a lot of shopping bags, and so did my wife.” – Martin Hayes

THE IRISH TIMES

4th September 2018
INIS MEÁIN PUTS A MODERN SPIN ON THE TRADITIONAL FISHERMAN’S SWEATER

It’s been said that Irish eyes tend to smile, but check again, and you may see that it’s only the result of a particularly cozy sweater. Or at least that’s likely to be the case if the owner of those happy peepers finds himself swathed in a sweater from Inis Meáin—our current obsession, which is handcrafted on the Emerald Isle. Hailing from the island of the same name (though in English rather than Gaelic, it’s more commonly known as Inishmaan), Inis Meáin harnesses the rich tradition of weaving and knitting found in the Aran Islands, but modernizes it with new techniques and designs.

BARNEYS NEW YORK

3rd October 2017
ALPACA PUNCH – HOW TO SPEND IT FEATURE

Strong yet soft, smart yet relaxed – it’s no wonder alpaca is leading the pack this season, says Tom Stubbs.

Alpaca’s durability and excellent drape also make it eminently suitable for the signature knitted jackets (€475) at Inis Meáin, with their button fronts and turn-down collars. This season’s update (€540) has a Nehru collar and a distinctive ribbed effect. I also like the retro appearance of its patterned and cabled Aran crewneck (€335) in baby alpaca and silk. – Tom Stubbs How to Spend it.

HOW TO SPEND IT

4th September 2017
INIS MEÁIN’S KNITTED LEGACY

An international beacon of knitted design and simple luxury, the Inis Meáin Knitting Company sits perched near the edge of Europe, 30-miles from Ireland’s Westernmost shores and on the middling of the three Aran Islands, 4-by-2 mile Inis Meáin. A landscape of inspiring rugged beauty and age-old simplicity, Inis Meáin is an oil painting of rough, turbulent seas, labyrinths of stone and carpets of moss and wild flora, all of which are reflected in each design, knit and stitch of the area’s famed ‘fisherman’s sweaters’.

WHITE LINE HOTELS

8th December 2016
Woollen Wonder – The Globe and Mail (Canada)

This combination of traditional design and modern sensibility has earned Inis Meáin a place on the racks of fashionable retailers from Todd Snyder in New York to Beams in Tokyo.

-Jeremy Freed,

Globe and Mail Canada

10th January 2016
FAN OF ARAN

Now an international business selling to the likes of Anderson and Sheppard in London's Savile Row, Hollington in Paris and online via matchfashion.com De Blacam and his wife Áine continue to work on new collections every season, sifting through yarn supplies from places as disparate as Italy and South America. “What we are looking for in the yarns — the styles, colours and quality — is very much based on the idea of incorporating a little bit of heritage and tradition into our pieces,” says De Blacam. “There is a big story to tell about Aran kniteear that is a lot more than the highly decorated sweater.”

THE SUNDAY BUSINESS POST

16th April 2015
COLLEZIONI

The Fabulous Aran Islands

“Anche per la stagione a/i 2015, il brand irlandese Inis Meáin, azienda produttrice di maglieria, continua a ispirarsi all’archivio del semplice abbigliamento da lavoro tipico delle tre isole di Aran. Il marchio irlandese ha introdotto nuovi assortimenti cromatici in lana, lana/cashmere e baby alpaca/seta, mischiate con marne della contea di Donegal. Prosegue anche il pattern dei recinti in pietra (Claíhocaí in gaelico), che rispecchia il labirinto di queste recinzioni tipico delle Aran.”

COLLEZIONI