Ted Baker returns to original 'broken' loom for 30-year collection

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
May 30, 2018

With archive pieces riding high at the moment, Ted Baker has issued an anniversary collection as part of its 30 Years of Caring project.

The limited edition collection consists of sweatshirts, T-shirts and hoodies, each with subtle embroidered branding across the chest or back of the garment, echoing the style for which the label was known in its early days.

The company said that “while the collection’s aesthetic remains the same, the cuts have all been updated with a slimmer, modern fit.” 

Priced from £39 and only available in the company’s own stores, the pieces look back to the late 1980s, well before the company dived headfirst into womenswear and became one of the go-to brands for special occasion dressing.

Company chief Ray Kelvin opened this first Ted Baker store in March 1988 and as part of the story around that anniversary and this collection, the archive element comes in not just in the look of the pieces but also because of the vintage loom on which they were created.

The company said that in its early days it used an old mill in the Portuguese countryside with a “broken” old loom that created particularly soft cotton garments because of some of its missing teeth. The loom was returned to use for the new project.