Quarry Bank Mill - Quality You Can Take To The Bank
From the outset, Admiral Sporting Goods Co. set out to make premium sportswear built on a solid foundation of quality materials and high-end craftsmanship. This was due in part to the weight of responsibility that comes from being the current custodians of an Admiral Sportswear brand with such rich and illustrious heritage. But it also comes from the most pure and fundamental of reasons to embark on any sporting endeavour: a desire to be the best.
It’s a journey which begins with sourcing high quality raw materials, in our case cotton, and utilising the latest manufacturing technology to produce garments through an exacting process that cuts no corners on quality. Though the technology may have changed some, this is an approach that has worked for manufacturers of quality textile goods for hundreds of years.
The Industrial Revolution was a time of seismic change in British history, and Manchester and the surrounding area was right at the centre of it. The period is characterised by a surge in global trade, huge advances in technology and the construction of factories on an unprecedented scale. Manchester became known as ‘Cottonopolis’ and was the first industrial city, outstripping even London as the world’s largest centre of manufacturing.
Transport was key to this explosion in productivity. First, through the construction of a network of canals and waterways spearheaded by the Duke of Bridgewater in the 1760s that put Manchester at its centre. This was followed by the first railway line between Manchester and Liverpool in 1830 and the Manchester Ship Canal in 1894 which linked the city directly to the sea.
Quarry Bank Mill in Cheshire was built by Samuel Greg in 1784, and is one of the best preserved textile factories of this era. The businessman saw an opportunity to combine the latest technological innovations with the natural assets offered by the area: the River Bollin capable of powering the waterwheels of a mill, and a climate perfect for the production of cotton. Crucially, the site was also linked by road to the Bridgewater canal and the supply of raw cotton from the Port of Liverpool.
As such a well-preserved artefact from the heyday of British manufacturing, Quarry Bank Mill offered a unique and fitting backdrop against which to shoot our AW21 range. In a world of fast fashion and throwaway fads and trends, we make no apology for being unashamedly traditional in the way we manufacture our clothes. The technology may have changed but the focus on quality remains.
We cut and sew in all our arms for a more comfortable fit and reinforce seams with twin needle stitching for added strength. We also use a substantial weighty cotton jersey to ensure your sweat or t-shirt will stand the test of time. Touches such as cover stitched seams, an archival technique to make a garment last, come at a higher cost in the manufacturing process. As such, it’s a detail you’d rarely find in sweats. You do in ours though, because we think it’s a price worth paying to have the best premium sportswear around. And like Quarry Bank Mill, they’re built to last.
Discover more pictures from Quarry Bank Mill in our AW21 collection lookbook and make sure you take a look through the new Autumn/Winter Collection.
