Belladrum festival launches first new tartan fashion label

A Highland music festival has become the first in the UK to boast its own tartan fashion range.

The Naked Highlander range has been set up by the festival and Black Isle design firm Prickly Thistle.

The Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival, which draws more than 16,000 to Beauly, near Inverness, each August, has unveiled a new line of kilts, capes, skirts. scarves and bags ahead of this year’s event.

A specialy-commissioned “Belladrum” design has been given official approval by the Scottish Register of Tartans.

It has been created by the Black Isle-based design studio Prickly Thistle, which is believed to be the only business of its kind in the Highlands.

A ladies Highland skirt is available as part of the Naked Highlander range.

The company’s founder, Clare Campbell, has joined forces with Joe Gibbs, director of the festival and owner of the Belladrum Estate, to set up the "Naked Highlander" label.

They launch the new clothing range on Valentine’s Day to coincide with the countdown to the 14th festival in August. It will be headlined by Sister Sledge, Franz Ferdinand and KT Tunstall.

On online shop has been opened to sell the full “Naked Highlander” range, with prices ranging from £35 for a scarf to £695 for a traditional kilt.

The design of the tartan is said to be based inspired by the colours of the landscape surrounding the festival site, including ancient greent forests and native lichens, as well as reflect the “pride and passion” of generations of owners of the historic estate, which has been in the same family for more than 150 years.

The traditional Highland kilt will set back Belladrum festivalgoers 695.

Ms Campbell said: “We’ve really enjoyed working on this project. The design of the tartan picks up on the red of the festival logo and the greens of the various lichens and mosses around the estate and festival site.”

Mr Gibbs said: “As an all-ages event, Belladrum’s crowd have always felt like one big happy clan so it seemed appropriate for the festival to have a tartan for everyone.”