Few have heard of Orkney tweed today, but in the mid-twentieth century it was as well known as Harris Tweed, and praised for its soft and light characteristics. This article investigates the rise and fall of Orkney tweed and suggests that its decline in the 1960s can be attributed to a variety of factors, including the advent of synthetic, ready-to-wear clothing, but also problems inherent in the mixed marketing messages around the textile. While the main producers of Orkney tweed emphasised the Viking connections of the Orkney islands and their product, the fashion media and overseas customers were more comfortable with positioning Orkney tweed within a stereotypic context of Scottish romanticism, in which Orkney tweed became interchangeable – and replaceable - with all Scottish tweeds. Contemporary attempts to re-establish tweed production on the Orkney Islands have rejected both approaches, focusing instead on the ‘natural’ properties of the fabric and the production of easily portable souvenirs.

中文翻译：

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高地浪漫还是维京传奇？

今天很少有人听说过奥克尼花呢，但在 20 世纪中叶，它与哈里斯花呢一样广为人知，并因其柔软轻盈的特性而备受赞誉。本文调查了奥克尼花呢的兴衰，并指出其在 1960 年代的衰落可归因于多种因素，包括合成成衣的出现，以及周围混合营销信息中固有的问题纺织品。虽然奥克尼花呢的主要生产商强调奥克尼群岛及其产品与维京人的联系，但时尚媒体和海外客户更愿意将奥克尼花呢定位在苏格兰浪漫主义的刻板印象中，其中奥克尼花呢变得可互换和可替换——搭配所有苏格兰花呢。