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Luke Eyres is a Cambridge based company dedicated to preserving and delivering
the best of British craftsmanship traditions to the UK and overseas customers.
Carefully preserving traditional manufacturing skills whilst applying
contemporary production techniques, we supply every level of organisation and
educational establishment.
Since its establishment in 1894 by Mr D Eyres, Luke Eyres has moved with the
times. In the early years, a major part of its output was black lisle
stockings, which formed an essential part of women’s attire during the late
nineteenth and early twentieth century. From the early 1900s to the end of the
1920s, the company produced traditional pullovers and during the First World
War also supplied balaclavas and gaiters to British troops.
Due to wartime shortages, there wasn’t enough wool yarn to create knitted
college scarves. The company decided to develop a woven wool material, leading
to the distinctive vertical striped style of college scarves today.
Following the war, wool became widely available again. Most universities
elected to keep their cloth stripe style. The scarves were mainly made for
Cambridge Colleges and boat clubs. However they soon became popular with
universities throughout the UK. Our definitive library of scarf designs has
been preserved and updated for two centuries.
Before long the company began making cricket sweaters for colleges,
incorporating a different trim for each institution. Luke Eyres sweaters ended
up being worn by all the major cricket teams including the West Indies,
Yorkshire as well as MCC.
1989 saw the introduction of the company’s first electronic machines, which
allowed it to branch out into the school wear market, eventually including
further education institutions both in the UK and overseas. We also started to
produce fashion work for Paul Smith and Joseph. We were one of the first
companies to use a pearl binder machine, and also one of the first to develop
with our supplier shrink-resistant yarn to allow clothes to be machine-washed.
Recently, Luke Eyres has started to produce stiff collars for a range of legal,
military and social occasions. The company also has an extensive library of
original collar patterns and produce entirely in-house, using original
manufacturing techniques.
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