Swanndri is a trade name for a range of popular

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

outdoor

clothing Clothing (also known as clothes, garments, dress, apparel, or attire) is any item worn on a human human body, body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin s ...

, and also used informally to refer to their original long heavy bush shirt. The classic "swanny" or bush shirt is a heavy, hooded,

wool Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have some properties similar to animal w ...

len garment with a lace up section at the neck. Although a wide range of colours and patterns are available, the traditional swanny pattern is a dark

tartan Tartan or plaid ( ) is a patterned cloth consisting of crossing horizontal and vertical bands in multiple colours, forming repeating symmetrical patterns known as ''setts''. Originating in woven wool, tartan is most strongly associated wi ...

which could be described as a 'reverse gingham', with thick criss-crossing stripes of either blue or red over a black base. The item was widely worn by

farmers A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer mi ...

, but in recent years its popularity has spread and it has become something of a

fashion Fashion is a term used interchangeably to describe the creation of clothing, footwear, Fashion accessory, accessories, cosmetics, and jewellery of different cultural aesthetics and their mix and match into Clothing, outfits that depict distinct ...

item. The Swanndri company also now produces a range of more urban-focussed garments.

History

The Swanndri, or "swanny" as it has been dubbed, was designed by William Broome (1873–1942). Since he registered Swanndri as a trademark on 23 December 1913, it has become an iconic

garment, and the term "swanny" has, to some extent at least, become a

genericised trademark A generic trademark, also known as a genericized trademark or proprietary eponym, is a trademark or brand name that, because of its popularity or significance, has become the generic term for, or synonymous with, a general class of products or ...

for heavy bush shirts within New Zealand. Broome, born in

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, emigrated to New Zealand at age 21. A tailor by trade, he established a clothier and outfitters business, ''The Palatine'', which was located on Devon Street,

New Plymouth New Plymouth () is the major city of the Taranaki region on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after the English city of Plymouth, in Devon, from where the first English settlers to New Plymouth migrated. The New Pl ...

. Part of his business involved sewing woollen fabric from mills in

Wanganui Whanganui, also spelt Wanganui, is a list of cities in New Zealand, city in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. The city is located on the west coast of the North Island at the mouth of the Whanganui River, New Zealand's longest nav ...

Kaiapoi Kaiapoi is a town in the Waimakariri District of the Canterbury, New Zealand, Canterbury region, in the South Island of New Zealand. The town is located approximately 17 kilometres north of central Christchurch, close to the mouth of the Waimak ...

and

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

, into the Swanndri garments. The characteristics of the "swanny" design include its heavy dark fabric, often in a tartan pattern, hood and laced neck closure. In more recent designs, a zip has replaced the lace-up neck. The original design was short sleeved, long in the back, and would be worn on top of work clothes for warmth and shower proofing. During production, these garments were dipped into a secret mixture and then dried. It is not known if Broome had been taught the method for shower proofing the fabric he used or whether he developed the formula himself. The mixture caused the garments to shrink unevenly so were sold as one size fits all. In 1938, Broome transferred the business to his wife, Ivy. Broome himself died four years later aged 69 years. In 1952, Ivy sold the business and trademark to John McKendrick, who operated a clothing factory at Waitara. McKendrick began purchasing fabric that was closely woven and pre-shrunk which enabled him to make different pattern sizes and garments. He sourced his cloth from South Island-based Alliance Textiles, and the business expanded with factories in Waitara and

Ōpunake Ōpunake () is a small urban area in the North Island of New Zealand, located within the Taranaki region and governed by the South Taranaki District Council. Positioned along State Highway 45, it lies between Hāwera to the south and New Plymo ...

. Alliance Textiles bought the Swanndri trademark in 1975 and later the whole company in 1990, moving production from their factories in Timaru. In 1994, Swanndri New Zealand Ltd purchased the brand from Alliance Textiles. According to Swanndri's corporate history, Broome's design began after he was frustrated by the persistently rainy New Zealand weather. The name Swanndri was named by Broome because the rain would literally run off the back of the garment as it does on a

swan Swans are birds of the genus ''Cygnus'' within the family Anatidae. The swans' closest relatives include the goose, geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe (biology) ...

.Swanndri NZ Website and Online Store
/ref> Although new colours and features have been incorporated into the Swanndri, Broom's original design influence can still be seen in New Zealand and among other producers around the world.

Recent history

Swanndri has been outsourcing its production to China since 2005. While the packaging and postage reinforces the NZ connection, the labelling says "Final construction in China to Swanndri NZ standards". Thus, the manufacturer no longer qualifies for Buy NZ Made.

References

External links

{{Portal, Fashion, Companies, New Zealand
Swanndri company home page

Information about Swanndri
from the exhibition ''On The Sheep's Back'', by

Te Papa museum The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa is New Zealand's national museum and is located in Wellington. Usually known as Te Papa (Māori for ' the treasure box'), it opened in 1998 after the merging of the National Museum of New Zealand an ...

NZ Govt. Fair Trading Act 1986
Companies based in New Plymouth New Zealand brands Outdoor clothing brands New Zealand design