The Dundee Raincoat Part 1 - Ideas and inspiration

Collaborating with a design museum and a heritage textiles factory to design and handcraft a contemporary raincoat has been a brilliant experience for me.

The key inspiration of my design comes from V&A Dundee’s building itself: sleek design, clean lines, minimal but bold.  As well as the museum’s modern architecture having a big influence on the design of the coat, I also wanted the design to reflect the city’s heritage, ongoing resilience and creativity. I talk a bit more about it here.

Lucy wearing the Dundee Raincoat outside V&A Dundee, photography by Julie Howden

As well as using superior fabrics, intricate details were important too, such as contrast detailing and paying attention to things like pocket placement. The coat was designed with my key design aesthetics in mind. These include my almost obsessive level of attention to detail, functional design and a hint at one of my key styling points: an inner patch pocket made from Ancient Dundee Old Heavy Weight Tartan.

I wanted to go a little bold with the colours, so I chose navy and orange as my two colourways. I love how vibrant they are.

Jack and Lucy Modelling the Raincoat outside V&A Dundee, photo by Julie Howden

Designing a bag to match was a fun addition to the project. The bag comes in the same two colourways as the coat, with opposing contrast details. The pocket on the bag features a window-like opening to reveal a new colour, which reminded me of looking out to the Tay from the windows of the museum.

Jack wears The Dundee Raincoat outside V&A Dundee, photography by Julie Howden.

I’ve enjoyed being part of an exciting collaboration, where museum, manufacturer and modern maker unite.

The KerrieALDO Dundee Raincoats and bags are exclusively available in the V&A Dundee shop.

Thanks to Ryan for sending me this photo of the current display!