Harris Tweed: From Land to Street [Hardcover]

It’s the biggest fictional hero endorsement to hit the Hebridean textile industry since Sherlock Holmes chose a Harris Tweed deerstalker. Our revelation on Saturday that the jacket worn by the eleventh Doctor Who, Matt Smith, is a vintage Dunn & Co two-by-two dogtooth will, we hope, galvanise fresh interest in this great, 100 per cent new wool cloth — a material that should be as synonymous with Britain as denim is with the US.

Lara Platman's beautiful book celebrates the industry with a series of photographic portraits that show how deeply rooted Harris tweed is in its landscape and indigenous culture. Her ability as a photographer to get under the skin of her subject, her eye for colour, light and local identity, make this book a must for anyone interested in the iconic Hebridean textile.

A celebration of craftsmanship, dedication and a way of life.

A timely look at the people behind the cloth. The text presents a thorough history and the images are excellent - Lara Platman has produced a fascinating book.

Platman outlines the journey from sheep to fabric, and from the hewbrides to Saville Row, all lovingly illustrated with her beautiful documentary photography.

Lara Platman spent a year with the farmers, mill workers and weavers who produce the cloth, and with the tailors and designers who fashion it into some of the most stylish garments around. Her evocative portraits of the people and the place tell a remarkable story of craftsmanship and survival.

This sense of place is beautifully captured in Harris Tweed… Via atmospheric portraits of shearers, scourers and dyers, spinners, weavers and tailors, the book follows the process from sheep's back to catwalk.

Offering insights into a lifestyle whose continued existence may surprise many.

With an eye for character, colour and light, and an ear for a good story, Lara has created a book of photographic portraits which celebrates these extraordinary people, complemented by evocative images of the landscape of Harris, the tweed patterns whose textures and colours seem to emerge from the land.

A fascinating journey and one in which Platman has skilfully captured the humanity, craftsmanship, sense of place and continuance of tradition, which imbues every yarn of Harris Tweed, to create a rich and deserving celebration of a textile that should be richly celebrated.

Platman's heartfelt celebration of craftsmanship and a way of life is captivating.

Follows the journey of this handwoven woollen textile from Scotland's Outer Hebrides to Savile Row and the world's fashion catwalks, using a host of beautiful images. Woolly sheeep, traditional looms and, of course, some fabulous clothes are all on show.

LARA PLATMAN is a photographer and writer, specialising in documenting areas of culture that are often considered to be eccentric or endangered. Coming from a family who produced theatrical costumes, she has grown up around creative craftsmen. She trained as a photographer and then a journalist and now combines these two skills to bring an in-depth study to each of her projects. She has just completed a book of portraits of 130 craftsmen in their working environments for the Art Workers Guild, (October 2009, Unicorn Press). Her overarching ambition is to ensure that Britain's living national treasures are acknowledged by a wider audience. She lives in Gloucestershire.