BRISON

A Scotsman questing for a kilt

 You probably have never heard his name before... neither have we, to say the truth, up until last week ! Alex Cunningham went back to his home in Scotland . He had purposely come from Scotland to Brison to get a kilt he ordered via internet from a talented kilt maker living here in France. Kilt that he wore at the reception given in his honour at the Town Hall .

From making wedding gowns to being a kiltmaker

To be living in the mountain village of Brison and becoming famous on the Internet by making Scottish kilts is quite an unusual affair. This whole adventure starts with Chrystel's being married to Robert Amyot of Scottish ancestry.

She had this idea of making a kilt for him. And though she had spent years making wedding gowns and all kind of custom made garments, kilt making was a totally different experience, for there are indeed many ways to pleat a kilt!

“In my view as well as that of my husband, there was something irresistibly stylish in the superb box pleat kilt, so popular in the XVIIIth century”, says Chrystel, “but I wanted to bring my personal touch to it, Thus was born my very first Double Box Pleated kilt.”

This new kilt quickly seduced the kilt wearers. Our local kilt maker is now being called “Lady Chrystel” , a name that she kept for her little business. Today Lady Chrystel is getting to be a leading name in custom kilt making and is well accepted by her trade and peers. Orders are flowing in from abroad and France alike (Normandy).

 An international community

 As Alex Cunningham, gentlemen wearing the kilt on a daily basis across the planet are more numerous that we would think. We can even talk of an international community of kilt wearers across the globe. The kilt as a garment projects an immediate feeling of  “prestance” , elegance “and manhood” adds Robert Amyot, “it forces you to stand up straight...”

Besides his kilt, Alex Cunningham brought back a nice certificate and the “Saltire”, a wee wooden Zeppelin, that has being travelling for over 4 years. It's being passed on from one kilt wearer to another; these are member of the most important kilt forums on the internet, X Marks The Scot.