Pringle was founded on the Scottish borders 190 years ago. Just in case that fact had escaped you, the label's fall show opened with a skirling bagpiper and drummer. But designer Stuart Stockdale undertook a less overt—and much more intriguing—exploration of Pringle's heritage by making a connection between Celtic music and American rockabilly. Witness Teddy boy threads like donkey jackets, cropped pants with a slight turn-up, tartan brothel creepers, and even a powder-blue trench.
America's original Scottish settlers also made it out onto the plains, so there was a distinct cowboy strand running through the collection, most notably in a hooded ponyskin duffel and jacket—worn with a kilt for that John McWayne effect. Button-through cardigans confirmed fall '05 as the season of the cool granddad, and primary-color cashmeres celebrated the year of the company's founding with a big woolly thistle motif. In fact, Stockdale's color palette was almost irresistible in its enthusiasm, though it tended to make one think of another British label with heritage on its mind. The collection was called Rites of Passage. But at the end of this particular journey of discovery, a young man just might find that Burberry had got there before him.
