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For a remote island located some 80 miles off the Scottish coast, Fair Isle has played an outsized role in the history of 20th-century fashion. That’s thanks to the knitting pattern that bears its name, which can be easily recognized by its varying rows of geometric motifs such as diamonds, crosses, and eight-pointed stars.
Just where such designs came from is disputed. One intriguing if far-flung theory credits castaways from the Spanish Armada, while another points to the island’s relative proximity to Scandinavia. What is agreed upon was that Fair Isle sweaters stayed in Fair Isle, where they were knit for fishermen from Shetland wool, typically with no more than five colors in total and two colors per row.
That is, until the pattern was popularized by Edward VIII, who in the 1920s sported a Fair Isle V-neck as golfing attire during his tenure as the Prince of Wales. With its royal blessing, this rustic pattern became an unlikely fashion darling, a status it has retained since, even appearing in Ralph Lauren’s first collection.
Fair Isle fever shows little signs of abating today and can be found this season in iterations ranging from classic to boundary-pushing. In that spirit, we’ve assembled a sampling of its finest contemporary forms below.
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Polo Ralph Lauren Fair Isle Wool V-Neck Sweater
Image Credit: Ralph Lauren With every fall/winter season, Polo Ralph Lauren can be counted on to deliver Fair Isle maximalism. This long-sleeved V-neck is an exemplar of the form, knit from 13 distinct yarns to achieve its busy, bucolic pattern.
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Monitaly Chamula Handknit Fair Isle Sweater in Ivory, Pink and Turquoise Merino Wool
Image Credit: No Man Walks Alone Handknit in Mexico, Chamula’s chunky merino sweaters are made a world away from the actual Fair Isle. As such, it’s taken some creative license with the island’s namesake pattern and made its iteration with brightly colored hand-dyed yarns.
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Todd Snyder Patchwork Fair Isle Crewneck in Orange Russet
Image Credit: Todd Snyder Todd Snyder’s given Fair Isle the patchwork treatment, making one of the boldest patterns known to man bolder still. That this high-risk/high-reward proposition works is thanks to a preference for darker, colder colors.
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Johnstons of Elgin Fair Isle Cable Cashmere Beanie
Image Credit: Johnstons of Elgin It’s easy for your own visage to be lost in the sea of beanies that sweeps our streets each winter. But you have a better-than-average chance of sticking out in this Johnstons of Elgin cashmere beanie, whose cable knit pattern is interrupted by a bright band of Fair Isle.
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The Elder Statesmen Fair Isle Cashmere Sweater
Image Credit: Mr Porter The Elder Statesmen has run Fair Isle through its Californian filter, and the result is a cleaner, brighter and all-around more contemporary take on the pattern. It also doesn’t hurt that the L.A.-based label has knit it from its signature cashmere yarn.
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J. Press Shetland Fair Isle Vest Cardigan
Image Credit: J. Press “Shetland wool.” “Fair Isle.” “Cardigan vest.” These could all be useful search terms for finding the coziest possible knit to wear this autumn. They’re also accurate descriptions of this hygge-tastic piece from J. Press.
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Howlin’ Fair Isle Brushed-Wool Scarf
Image Credit: Mr Porter Much like the shaggy sweaters that have become the Antwerp-based label’s calling card, this Fair Isle scarf by Howlin’ is brushed for a fuzzy finish. The extra insulation that also results from that process will be appreciated each time it hangs from your neck.
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Phineas Cole Fair Isle Wool Turtleneck
Image Credit: Paul Stuart This close-fitting Fair Isle turtleneck from Phineas Cole is what we might wear while entertaining guests at our mountaintop chalet. Just be sure to keep its luxuriously soft wool safe from fondue stains.
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Kenzo Fair Isle Vest
Image Credit: FWRD Fair Isle may be steeped in tradition—but not every deployment of the pattern must hew the party line. This sweater vest from Kenzo marches to its own beat with a lemon-lime hue and a design that cheekily spells out the label’s name.
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American Trench Cotton Fair Isle Socks
Image Credit: Sid Mashburn Love them as we may, Fair Isle sweaters can be a lot. But it’s possible to inject just a little of the pattern into your get-up, and you can do so with these intarsia-knit cotton American Trench socks stocked by Sid Mashburn.
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Our Legacy Fair Isle Sweater Vest
Image Credit: Matches Fashion If there can be such a thing as a minimalist Fair Isle sweater vest, leave it to Our Legacy to make it happen. The Swedish label has decorated this otherwise solid vest with a subtle jacquard-woven geometric pattern rendered in light pastels.
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Anderson & Sheppard Fair Isle Woolen Blanket in Navy
Image Credit: Anderson & Sheppard If Fair Isle works so well on humans, there’s no reason why it shouldn’t appear charming on furniture, too. Pair this patterned wool blanket from Anderson & Sheppard with a leather wingback chair and accessorize with a cup of tea and a good book.
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Drake’s Light Brown Fair Isle Lambswool Sleeveless V-Neck Jumper
Image Credit: Drake's Ever since the English accessory maker pivoted to full-wardrobe outfitting, Drake’s has proven itself a Fair Isle provider par excellence. This season is no exception and sees the release of this V-neck vest in a delightfully earthy palette.
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Yohji Yamamoto Fair-Isle Hooded Cardigan
Image Credit: Farfetch Simply adding a hood to a Fair Isle sweater would have been subversive enough. But Yohji Yamamoto went several steps further and introduced irreverent motifs into the cardigan’s geometric pattern, including fish bones, top hats, rouged lips and what appears to be dinosaur fossils.
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Brooks Brothers Cotton Poplin Fair Isle Boxers
Image Credit: Brooks Brothers Who says that all Fair Isle must be public-facing? Not Brooks Brothers, who’s produced these cotton-poplin boxers graced by the pattern du jour.
