Argyle: In and Out of Exile
In what one can only assume was an attempt at conjoining his pal Paul Mescal's tiny cardigan obsession with the resurfacing of a knitwear standard, Andrew Scott recently embraced the Argyle pattern trend – and was embraced back, tightly so.
This love affair's neither novel nor mutually exclusive though, with certified Hodakova-stan Rosé, alongside not one but two former cover stars of ours having all played their part – throughout history – in getting everybody to pine after diamond-printed cardigans, sweater vests, and knee socks.
Long deemed a relic of stuffy, snooty golf gear, the Argyle pattern has staged more than one comeback over the many years it's been around. Loosely stemming from the Scottish Campbell Clan of Argyll's 17th century family tartan, the titular design as we know it today first became popular in the early nineteen hundreds.
Outfitted by premium cashmere brand Pringle of Scotland, the then-Duke of Windsor, Edward VIII, would launch the former kilt motif into the broader public's consciousness, and help it gain the traction needed to become something of a fashion trend – one that'd ebb and flow for decades to come.
By the early 2000s, the Argyle pattern peaked: On TV screens and style pages, show characters and celebrities – from Friends to Gossip Girl; Avril Lavigne to André 3000.
As for present day's resurgence, we have mainly Miuccia Prada to blame, for seeding both her name- and nickname-sake collections, as well as magazine fronts and runway attendees, with variations of the freshly reclaimed slanted plaid, including actors Maya Hawke and Ncuti Gatwa.
From around 2019 to 2020 onward, the Italian creative director has been quietly breeding the spawn that has since caused a plowing takeover of once vanished-seeming woolen Argyles – current bestsellers, too, for the likes of AMI Paris, Bottega Veneta, and Our Legacy, among others.
Is it symptomatic of TikTok's past infatuation with old money aesthetics? A remnant of the bygone era that was our BookTok studies of dark academia and binges of The Crown? Maybe a Y2K prep, mall goth, or indie sleaze throwback? Or just a graphic to freshen up but not wholly forego quiet luxury's strict reign? A mix of everything, perhaps, peppered with with a pinch of grandpacore for good measure?
Unlike previous visits, 2024's Argyle pattern trend, it appears, is a spectrum that allows for whatever may fit between Cordae's extra fuzzy and Pamela Anderson's monochromatic barely-there.
What is really the question then, is if said versatility means our relationship with Argyles will finally turn into lasting romance, or if it will forever remain a quick-to-burn-out fling that reemerges on occasion. Is this a text from someone you shouldn't but do get excited about, or an overdue love letter of utmost sincerity?
With Argyle textiles unexiled, I, for one, am all smiles – even if only for a little while.
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