A new luxury knitwear label based in Northallerton has finally nailed the ‘nana knit’. Ruth Addicott talks to its founder, Lizzie Cawthray

LUXURY knitwear can be hard to find, but if you’re looking for something cosy this winter, try Needle, the brand new label by Northallertonbased designer Lizzie Cawthray.

Needle, which recently launched its debut Autumn/Winter 2013 collection, has already caught the eye of fashion magazines such as Grazia, which recommended its Rome cable knit jumper for copying the “geek chic” style of Alexa Chung and Zooey Deschanel.

Lizzie always wanted to create her own range of womenswear and describes the collection as “wearable with a contemporary edge”. Her love of knitwear began in 2009 when she did an internship at LK Bennett. She was eventually taken on full time and took up the role of knitwear product developer.

“That’s where the love for knit started,” she says. “I was really inspired by the designer who I worked with and felt there was quite a good niche in the market. You can go into Marks & Spencer and buy basics, but – especially in the North – you need something cosy and warm that’s nice to wear.”

In 2011, after leaving her job in London and moving back to Yorkshire, Lizzie enlisted the help of former Burberry designer Emma Baressi, and together they began working on a series of capsule collections.

The A/W 2013 collection, manufactured in Italian woollen mills, features key pieces such as the Rome cable knit jumper (£145), colourblocked cashmere shawls and a Milan jacket (“our version of the Chanel jacket”) at £195.

“The cable-knit is very flattering,” says Lizzie. “We made the sleeves ribbed so that they’re tight because sometimes chunky knits can be a bit unflattering. It’s also been made to be a big roll-neck – not too close to the neck so it’s quite wearable and fits really nicely. The jacket, I think, is quite unique and pretty versatile.

It feels luxurious. I don’t really wear black and it’s the piece I’ve worn most because it’s convenient to throw on for a meeting or go out in the evening with a pair of black jeans.”

Prices range from £35 for a pair of 100 per cent cashmere colour-blocked mittens to £125 for a 100 per cent extra fine merino cardi or lambswool jumper. At the higher end of the price bracket, there’s the merino silk cashmere Milan jacket and long boyfriend-shaped houndstooth cardigan at £195.

Another favourite is the Florence buttonback jumper in honeycomb stitch at £145. “It’s quite unusual, it’s quite fun and is probably our best-seller,” says Lizzie.

One thing Lizzie has tried to incorporate a lot of is colour. “Teal is a very prominent colour this season,” she says. “We wanted to be a bit more interesting. I think knitwear should be fun and exciting, so colour was quite important. I don’t think my customers are looking to be completely on trend, they’re looking for something that feels nice and is wearable.”

The Northern Echo:
Oxford in black and oatmeal, £195

LIZZIE’S advice to anyone who is planning to splash out on some luxury knitwear this season is to invest in a good wool brush or comb. “And don’t hang it,” she says.

“Especially chunky knits because they just stretch.” Her other tip is to keep knitwear covered in a polythene bag to prevent moths getting at it.

Although she has drawn on her experience of retail as much as possible, launching a label from scratch hasn’t been easy.

One of the biggest obstacles was having to change to overseas suppliers: she originally intended to use mills in Scotland before switching to Italy. Then there were hiccups with the photo shoot and they had to make do with samples because half the stock didn’t arrive. On top of this, there was a heavy snowfall, the model was breast-feeding with her husband and baby in tow, and the photographer – determined to get the perfect shot – got stuck in a pair of waders. “They were too small and it took about three men to get them off. I think his toes are only just recovering,” says Lizzie.

In spite of that, sales so far have been extremely promising. As well as online, the knitwear is sold at three boutiques including Upstairs Downstairs in Ripon, Boudoir Femme in Cambridge and Boutique 3 in Cheltenham, which have already made repeat orders.

“The biggest barrier we are finding is that when people search ‘luxury’, they search cashmere,”

says Lizzie. “But our merino wool is really beautiful, really delicate and very wearable.

I wanted it to be as good a quality as possible – it’s gorgeous.”

The Northern Echo:
Rome cable-knit jumper, £145