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Some clothes provide utility, others fantasy, while others evoke an entire mood. A Fair Isle sweater is a mood. It’s the physical embodiment of cozy weekends in farm houses and chalets; the clothing equivalent of hot cocoa—perfectly familiar and never too sweet.
Fair Isle knits came to fame under an earlier Prince of Wales (later Edward VIII) in the 1920s, and have remained a favorite of the historically sporty British royal family ever since. The late Princess Diana was seen in a perfectly 1980s version in bold neon pink and green, which she paired with neutral corduroy trousers, and later in a classic Christmas-worthy reindeer Fair Isle knit, proving that this style can’t be put in a box.
Named for an island in Shetland, in northern Scotland, Fair Isle refers to a traditional knitting technique used to create patterns using multiple colors at once. London-based designer Molly Goddard has made Fair Isle a brand hallmark, offering a new spin each season, with a particularly cool cropped sweater set moment for fall 2023.