The knitwear brand fashion editors swear by introduces…

The knitwear brand fashion editors swear by introduces menswear

&Daughter is fashion insiders’ best kept knitwear secret, launched in 2013 and crafted by hand by five makers in Scotland and Ireland. Now, founder Buffy Reid is expanding the offering to menswear.

“We have taken our signature silhouettes and reworked them for masculine proportions,” she says. Think bright grandad cardigans, slouchy crewnecks, pale pink knit rugby shirts, substantial military green roll necks and charming lambswool waistcoats.

“A good jumper is as essential as a white t-shirt,” Reid continues. “We see knitwear as the foundation of modern dressing and our customer shops and wears knitwear in the same way. They consider a sweater, cardigan or polo shirt to be the cornerstone of an outfit, that piece that brings everything else together.”

As for her foray into male wardrobes, she explains: “I thought of those men who just wear knits brilliantly — from Derek Jarman in a navy crew at Dungeness to James Baldwin walking the streets of Paris in a colourful sweater, or Jarvis Cocker in a skinny V-neck in the nineties.”

The ten-piece collection, available now, is “foundational” — but Reid’s top pick is the Rosh Crewneck (£350, and-daughter.com). “A crewneck was the first piece we designed when we started the brand ten years ago and for me it's still the desert island knit piece, if I had to wear one jumper for the rest of time.”

As for why the fashion set have swooned for them — yes, the products are simple, sophisticated and sleek. But it’s also the attention detail building a small scale, local production line that makes &Daughter stand out. “We only work with five yarns and five makers, all based in the UK and Ireland. For this first men's collection, we worked with a super fine lambswool that is RWS certified and spun by heritage Scottish spinners, Todd and Duncan, who are situated on a nature reserve in Loch Leven. Why? It is argued that Scotland spins the best yarns in the world and possibly the best knitwear too, because of the purity of the water,” says Reid.

It’s as good a sales pitch as any.