The Aran sweater has remained both iconic and stylish through out the years. It is comfortable, fashionable and represents Irish heritage and culture. The sweater is named for the Aran Islands off the west coast of Ireland and is most recognisable for its wool fabric and cable patterns.
The humble Aran jumper has been adopted and worn by many famous faces over the years.The Aran jumper started life in the fishing communities of Western Ireland who needed a chunky knit to keep the cold out when out at sea. The quality and craftmanship which went into the garments were extremely high. As the years went on the jumpers were showcased in various yachting and sailing magazines and became popular with Sailing enthusiasts.
Here is a brief montage of various celebrity Aran jumper wearers.
The Clancy brothers (1960's)
The Clancy brothers were a Irish folk band consisting of 4 Irish brothers. They were very popular in beatnik music scene of Greenwich Village in New York during the 60's, and rubbed shoulders with Bob Dylan and Pete Seegar. Their loving Irish mother knitted them traditional Aran jumpers and a new fashion craze was born. The band appeared on The Ed Sullivan show in 1963 wearing their trademark jumpers and the rest in history!
Grace Kelly
Grace Kelly was one of the most famous and recognisable faces of the 1960's. She was a style icon and was adored by many designers of the era. She was also a keen sailor and would sail her yacht around Monaco. In this photo she is wearing a classic cable knit Aran jumper and cats eyes sunglasses.
Steve McQueen
Steve McQueen was arguably the most famous leading man throughout the 60's and 70's. Films such as The Magnificant Seven and The Great Escape made him a household name and also a style icon.
In these pictures Mcqueen wears one of the most popular Aran styles, a mens crew neck with cable stitch design.
The diamond knit also represents success and wealth, with the traditional cable pattern represents fishermans ropes!
Chris Evans
“The only thing I will say about knives out is that, upon seeing Chris Evans in a sweater, the girl next to me gasped and said very softly and tenderly, ‘Sweater.’ ”
This tweet from journalist Anna Menta went viral in December 2019, getting around 50,000 likes
This was becuase hunky star of Captain America, Chris Evans, wore a traditonal irish jumper in his movie "Knives Out". This caused a massive stir and was quickly adopted by his fans. Sweater only screenings were even organised!
Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift shocked and delighted her fans by releasing a surprise 8th album dubbed "Folklore". Perhaps more shocking was her choice of an Aran jumper for her cover art.
Taylor wore the traditonal "geansai" Aran jumper and it automatically became popular with her fans. The singer has a massive following on social media (nearly 137 million instagram followers) and the jumper sales boomed as a result.
Some retailers have seen sales double since Taylor released her album.
