Far from the glamor of fashion weeks in Paris, Milan and London, a nondescript cashmere mill on Scotland's western coast that supplies luxury labels hopes local training programs can attract new talent.
"It's a dying trade," 61-year-old Maria Wade said of her job as a "greasy mender" at Alex Begg, a semi-rural mill that has been based in Ayr in southwest Scotland for more than a century.
The weaving mill supplies cashmere to prestigious fashion brands, which cannot be named for confidentiality reasons, as well as its own luxury label, Begg x Co.
"You don't get many people mending raw cashmere," said Wade, whose role is to meticulously inspect and darn any defects in the fabric by hand, before it is washed, cut and shipped around the world.
Famed for its luxury tweeds, wools and cashmeres, Scotland's textile industry has seen a sharp decline in recent decades as high manufacturing costs struggle to compete with cheap production abroad, and an ageing workforce retires, taking traditional manufacturing skills with them.
When technical transformation director Lorna Dempsey joined Alex Begg more than 25 years ago, the average age was "quite old", she told AFP, "about 50-plus".
Since then, the company has made a "conscious effort to try and recruit younger people" and brought the average age down to around 40.
It's no easy task in the run-down former mining town, with those interested in fashion careers looking to places such as Glasgow, around an hour's drive away, or even further afield.
"We don't have a lot of skills within the Ayrshire area, so it's very difficult for us to try and find skilled staff," said Dempsey.
The rise of fast fashion has made it harder to find young people with manufacturing know-how.
"A lot of our operations are definitely a skill from the past," said Dempsey, adding that people don't learn how to "darn their socks anymore."
- 'On my doorstep' -
The mill's partnership with the King's Foundation -- a charity founded by King Charles III and headquartered in the nearby Dumfries House estate -- has helped turn things around.
The foundation runs programs aimed at addressing "a skills gap within the UK textile industry".
Trainees learn about production lines, supply chains, working with different materials and sustainable design -- skills that employers say are often not covered in fashion school.
They are then given work experience at Scottish mills such as Alex Begg, and some like Emma Hyslop manage to secure a job.
Sat behind a fringing machine at the mill, Hyslop, 28, deftly ran a dark cashmere fabric destined for a Spanish luxury brand through its frame, twisting the ends of the cloth into fringes.
After getting a fashion design diploma at a Glasgow college, Hyslop did a six-week course with the King's Foundation, through which she discovered the luxury mill in her backyard.
"I had no idea about the place beforehand, and it's on my doorstep," said Hyslop, from south Ayrshire.
"We're actually quite a hidden gem," said Dempsey.
"So it's our job, our legacy, to keep bringing people through our manufacturing businesses, and keep bringing the skills alive again."
- Heritage skills -
The mill currently has four apprentices and is hoping to add more this year.
Dempsey also gives talks to local primary school children with the King's Foundation.
It is an issue close to the king's heart, with the British monarch attending Thursday's opening of London Fashion Week and meeting apprentices "supporting heritage skills and sustainability" -- including students on King's Foundation programs.
Nicole Christie founded her own sustainable women's luxury brand, Ellipsis, after completing a textile program at Dumfries House in 2020.
Entering luxury fashion in Scotland is "difficult", said Christie, with other major brands usually based in London or other European cities.
"At one point, leaving university, I did think that I would have to move down south," said Christie, who instead decided to build her brand in Glasgow.
"I'm really proud that I'm doing it here, and I really hope one day that I'll actually be able to give other people opportunities."
