Chilean's Scottish Kilts Go Global From Germany

[Monkey@Arms]

Chilean's Scottish Kilts Go Global From Germany

Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: Showing some leg

You don't need a Scottish brogue to love kilts. Or to make them. One Chilean-German designer has turned the "man skirt" into haute couture.

Most German men view skirts as a somewhat mysterious girl thing better left well enough alone. But not Carlos Jösch. For this Chilean-German, the Scottish kilt is a thing of beauty and an art form. The complicated pleats. The tricky stitching. The maddening tartan fabric. Jösch loves them all.

Kilts are serious business for Jösch. He sews them by hand using imported Scottish wool and traditional techniques.

Jösch's journey to master kilt maker took an unusual route. Born in Chile, his parents fled the country for Germany in 1969. Jösch, now 40, was 3 years old at the time. While he grew up in a small town not far from Cologne, he always kept close emotional ties with his Chilean roots.

Somewhere along the way, he developed an inexplicable fascination with all things Scottish. The obsession started with interest in the bagpipes and evolved from there. Studying fashion further fueled his fascination with the precision and skill required to make kilts. He apprenticed with a Scottish dressmaker and later went on to become part of the world's very small group of officially recognized kilt makers.

Each of Jösch's hand-stitched skirts takes four days to make and costs 700 euros ($1,025). Underwear is optional, of course.

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,...072001,00.html

Best regards,

Jake

[Sean_the_Kilted]

Interesting article, but his kilts seem a bit over priced at 700 euros, at least with the exchange rate at the moment

[Rex_Tremende]

Interesting article, but his kilts seem a bit over priced at 700 euros, at least with the exchange rate at the moment

Well, when you're officially recognized and all... you know, you can command a better price.

[beloitpiper]

I would never pay $1,025 for a kilt, even if it was stitched up by the Queen using wool from Dolly the sheep.

I'd love to see examples of his work and hear an explanation as to why he overprices his kilts.

[SteveB]

I am sure that his fees are somewhat high, as the import of Scottish Tartan into Germany is rather highly taxed. The price quote is probably for a high end (read: rare tartan) kilt.

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

I am sure that his fees are somewhat high, as the import of Scottish Tartan into Germany is rather highly taxed. The price quote is probably for a high end (read: rare tartan) kilt.

As I understand it, a German company buying wool in the UK pays exactly the same price, including VAT (Value Added Tax, which is later claimed back) as a UK based company. There is no "import duty" between members states of the European Union. The costs of the goods does increase due to shipping, plus VAT on the shipping. The cost of doing business in Germany is higher than in the UK due to the German business tax structure, shorter work week, and higher minimum wages.

Added to this is the fact that "couture" always costs more-- and it's easy to see why this fella charges more than his Scottish or North American counterparts.

[Larry124]

I would never pay $1,025 for a kilt, even if it was stitched up by the Queen using wool from Dolly the sheep. ...

Me neither.

I doubt that that “translated” (oddly translated?) website version captures the tone of the original.

[beloitpiper]

Ok, so I found his website (translated from the original German), and he seems kinda haughty. I dunno, I never really liked fashion designers in the first place, but this guy goes on about "being the only non-British kiltmaker certified by the Scottish-Kiltmaker Association", which I'm not entirely sure is true...

[Fedgunner]

<snip> but this guy goes on about "being the only non-British kiltmaker certified by the Scottish-Kiltmaker Association", which I'm not entirely sure is true...

Kathy Lare might take exception to that...

[starbkjrus]

More than one person has alluded to "highly taxed" imported wool. er......Last time I checked Germany and Scotland were both EU members. There shouldn't be any import duties.