Table of Contents

1. Key Highlights:
2. Introduction
3. From Customer to Collaborator: How the Partnership Took Root
4. Aesthetic Choices: Poetry, Protest, and Punk-Knit Syntax
5. Hawick and the Scottish Borders: A Place-Based Approach to Knitmaking
6. Materials and Sustainability: Cotton, Deadstock, and Water-Based Inks
7. The Six-Piece Capsule: Garments, Details, and Price Positioning
8. Retail Strategy: E-commerce Exclusivity and the Soho Pop-up
9. Cultural Resonance: Why a Tilda Swinton Collaboration Matters
10. Market Context: Celebrity Capsules, Independent Labels, and the Economics of Scarcity
11. What This Collaboration Signals for Hades and Swinton
12. FAQ

Key Highlights:

• Hades and Tilda Swinton have launched a six-piece capsule, "Notes From the Precipice," blending screen-printed poetry, slogan knitwear, and artisanal Scottish manufacturing.
• The collection foregrounds sustainable choices—100% cotton garments, water-based inks, and deadstock fabrics—while reinforcing Hades’ countercultural aesthetic and Hawick-based craftsmanship.

Introduction

When a collaborator is also a long-time customer, the relationship that forms often goes beyond the transactional and becomes creative. That is the essence of the renewed partnership between Hades, the British knitwear and ready-to-wear label run by sisters Cassie and Isabel Holland, and Tilda Swinton, the actor whose public persona bridges avant-garde film, activism and a distinctly idiosyncratic approach to fashion. Their second capsule, titled "Notes From the Precipice," arrives not as a mere celebrity endorsement but as a continuation of a creative dialogue: a compact set of garments that pairs text lifted from Swinton’s own writing and speeches with Hades’ punk-tinged, countercultural sensibility and the centuries-old knitting traditions of the Scottish Borders.

This release crystallizes several currents shaping contemporary fashion: the migration of haute collaborators into craft-led labels, the commercialization of personal rhetoric and poetry, and a renewed market for locally made, higher-quality pieces at deliberate price points. Here, a screen-printed cotton skirt carries a line from a poem; a jumper wears "Make Friends With Chaos" like a manifesto. The collaboration rests on craft as much as celebrity, an approach that positions Hades not as a trend-chaser but as a custodian of a specific creative milieu—one that is equal parts humor, provocation and artisanal technique.

The following sections examine how the collaboration evolved, unpack the design and production choices, place the capsule within current market dynamics, and assess what this partnership signals about the future of small-label collaborations and the cultural power of clothing as text.

From Customer to Collaborator: How the Partnership Took Root

Hades’ cofounders describe Swinton’s entrance into their orbit as organic and personal: she was a customer who reached out, and that correspondence expanded into months of iteration and exchange. That beginning—consumer to collaborator—matters in several ways. It signals a relationship built on genuine appreciation for a brand’s aesthetic rather than a one-off publicity play. For indie labels in particular, credibility depends on authenticity; consumers quickly detect transactions engineered solely for coverage.

Cassie and Isabel Holland have framed the collaboration as mutual curiosity. They told WWD that Swinton "began as a customer of Hades before reaching out to us directly. A correspondence turned into a collaboration, with months of back-and-forth to finalize the designs and creative imagery.” The timeline and detail suggest an iterative design process guided by both parties rather than a top-down creative brief. Swinton then traveled to Hades’ manufacturing factory in Hawick, Scotland, to meet the craftspeople who produced the knitted pieces. That visit anchored the collection in place-based craft and allowed Swinton to work directly with the technicians responsible for knit construction—a gesture that strengthens claims of artisanal authenticity.

Customer-to-collaborator trajectories are not uncommon in fashion, but not all end in products that resist trivialization. The success of a partnership depends on how well a celebrity’s public voice translates into the brand’s visual language. In this case, Swinton’s public identity—an inclination toward experimental art and political engagement—mirrors Hades’ countercultural motifs. That alignment made the collaboration plausible from the start.

The first capsule, released in 2024, celebrated Swinton’s filmography through eccentric motifs—scissors, hands and playful slogans—and attracted an audience ready to embrace Hades’ blend of wit and craftsmanship. The sisters’ response to that reception was decisive: "We were thrilled people embraced the eccentricity of the first collection — scissors, hands and weird and wonderful slogans," they said, noting the positive reinforcement that encouraged another collaboration. The second act, therefore, is less about expanding name recognition and more about deepening a creative relationship.

Aesthetic Choices: Poetry, Protest, and Punk-Knit Syntax

"Notes From the Precipice" expresses itself through a measured tension: the softness of handcrafted knit and cotton juxtaposed with language that reads like a public provocation. The capsule uses excerpts from Tilda Swinton’s poem "Notes For Radical Living" alongside lines from her 2025 Berlinale speech. Those words appear as screen-printed text on 100% cotton skirts and a dress—printed with eco-conscious water-based inks—and as knitted slogans on jumpers that read "Make Friends With Chaos." The textual overlay turns each garment into a portable statement.

Slogans have a long political and subcultural history in clothing, from punk pins and hand-scrawled tee shirts to protest banners. They condense position-taking into easily legible fragments. Hades has leaned into this shorthand before—its first collaboration featured playful, sometimes surreal slogans and iconography—and the new capsule clarifies the direction: apparel as a medium for aphorism and gentle provocation, grounded in craft.

Swinton herself contributed design suggestions. The knit frock and skirt were conceived with her input and constructed in Hawick—her involvement went beyond lending a name or approving a mood board. That practical engagement matters. It gives the pieces the character of a true co-creation where text, silhouette and finish were discussed in the presence of the makers.

The choice to use screen-printing on cotton rather than embroidering text into the knit speaks to both aesthetic and practical considerations. Screen-printing allows for crisper type and more graphic fidelity, retaining the legibility of poetic lines even on softer silhouettes. It also creates a distinct tactile contrast between printed cotton and the knitted textures that define Hades, accentuating the interplay between speech and fabric.

Visually, the pieces maintain Hades’ signature eccentricity—ruffle-trimmed handbags in bright, slogan-adorned deadstock fabrics, light and loose-fitting cotton jumpers—yet the collection also introduces a reflective quality. Where the first capsule celebrated quirks and film references, the second foregrounds a philosophical impulse: how to live in tumultuous times. The titles and lines selected—drawn from Swinton’s own phraseology on radical living—convert clothing into a conduit for ethical and existential reflection.

Hawick and the Scottish Borders: A Place-Based Approach to Knitmaking

Hawick sits at the heart of Scotland's Borders, a region with a centuries-long textile history. Small towns in the Borders—Hawick among them—became synonymous with knitwear, weaving and tweed manufacturing during the Industrial Revolution and evolved into hubs for high-quality textile production. That legacy matters to Hades and to the Swinton collaboration.

When Swinton visited the factory in Hawick, she did more than meet technicians; she met a lineage of artisans whose skills derive from multi-generational practice. The Scotland-made label narrative has two key virtues for a modern audience: it ensures a provenance story that distinguishes these garments from mass-produced alternatives, and it sustains local skill sets under pressure from industry consolidation and overseas manufacturing trends.

Place-based production carries tangible, legible benefits. First, proximity enables iterative quality control and customization, which is crucial for knitted garments where gauge, stitch tension and finishing determine the final silhouette. Second, the marketing value is clear: telling consumers where and by whom a garment was made helps justify price points and fosters a sense of ethical consumption. Hades leans on both advantages. The sisters emphasized the importance of "the highest possible quality of traditionally made artisanal pieces in the heart of the Scottish Borders," a phrase echoed by Swinton herself in a statement about the collaboration.

Hawick’s knitters also speak to the technical demands of the collection. Knitted garments with text or complex trims require experienced technicians. A ruffle-trimmed handbag executed in deadstock fabric and knitted skirts with precise silhouettes necessitate hands that understand the craft. Small factories in the Borders, though squeezed by global market pressures, still possess the machinery and institutional knowledge to produce pieces of the sort Hades envisions: robustly made, characterful and made-to-last.

This firming of regional craft within the luxury and niche-marketing ecosystems points to a broader trend: small brands are reclaiming local manufacturing to compete on the basis of quality and narrative, rather than volume.

Materials and Sustainability: Cotton, Deadstock, and Water-Based Inks

The capsule foregrounds certain material decisions that align with sustainability-minded consumption without adopting heavy-handed greenwashing claims. Garments are 100% cotton; prints use eco-friendly water-based ink; handbags are made in deadstock fabric. Each of these choices merits unpacking.

100% cotton, when responsibly sourced, offers breathability and longevity. For consumers who prioritize tactile comfort and easy care, cotton is a pragmatic choice over delicate blends. That said, the environmental credentials of cotton hinge on agricultural practices—pesticide use, water consumption and the presence of organic certifications. The source article does not specify the origin of the cotton used here, but Hades does flag eco-sensitive processes in their printing and fabric reuse choices, which suggests purposeful selection.

Water-based inks differ from solvent-based alternatives by eliminating heavy chemical carriers. For screen-printing on garments, water-based inks provide less environmental toxicity and improved biodegradability. They also sit differently on fabric, often yielding a softer hand rather than a plasticky feel. That text is intentionally tactile, integrated with the fabric rather than sitting as an external film—this complements the craft-forward approach.

Using deadstock fabric for the handbags addresses a central material problem in fashion: surplus and waste. Deadstock refers to excess or leftover material from prior production runs—using it prevents further demand for new textile production and gives discarded resources a second life. The ruffle-trimmed, slogan-adorned bags demonstrate how creativity can convert surplus into distinctive product.

These choices indicate a nuanced sustainability posture. Hades did not position the capsule as "fully sustainable" or adopt sweeping claims; instead, they integrated several lower-impact practices into a collection whose ethos is craftsmanship and cultural commentary. For a brand at this scale, adopting incremental material improvements—water-based inks, deadstock trim, locally produced knitwear—can substantively reduce environmental impact while retaining aesthetic identity. The result is a nuanced model that balances ethical intentions with design integrity and production realities.

The Six-Piece Capsule: Garments, Details, and Price Positioning

"Notes From the Precipice" comprises six pieces priced between $237 and $677. The capsule includes 100% cotton skirts and a dress printed with excerpts from Swinton’s poem and speech, light looser-fitting cotton jumpers with the "Make Friends With Chaos" slogan, knitted frock and skirt designs influenced directly by Swinton, and colorful, ruffle-trimmed handbags crafted in deadstock fabric. Production took place in Hawick for the knitwear, with the handbags and printed cotton items completed according to the sisters' specifications.

The price range situates the collection in an upper contemporary luxury tier—elevated above fast-fashion price points but accessible relative to high fashion couture. Pricing in this bracket performs several functions: it respects the labor and materials involved in small-batch manufacture, supports the economic viability of local craft, and preserves perceived scarcity. Consumers willing to pay these amounts typically seek a combination of design distinctiveness and production provenance; Hades provides both.

Garment details matter for wearer experience and longevity. The cotton prints employ water-based inks that integrate with the fabric, reducing the risk of cracking or delamination. Knitwear constructed in Hawick is more likely to maintain shape and withstand repeated wearing—key for consumers who treat clothing as investment pieces rather than seasonal throwaways. Handbags in deadstock retain a distinct, non-homogenized aesthetic precisely because they reuse materials that are difficult to replicate at scale.

The capsule’s small size—six pieces—favors depth over breadth. Limited runs encourage thoughtfulness in both design and consumption. The pieces function as conversation starters, not wardrobe staples to be mass-shifted. The approach suits a brand narrative that values eccentricity, wit and craftsmanship. It also dovetails with a retail strategy that privileges scarcity: exclusivity can make the product more desirable while keeping production manageable for a small team.

Retail Strategy: E-commerce Exclusivity and the Soho Pop-up

The capsule is available exclusively through Hades' e-commerce platform and at a weekend pop-up in Soho, London, running Thursday to Monday. This two-pronged distribution strategy balances digital reach with the in-person experiential marketing that benefits niche luxury labels.

E-commerce exclusivity centralizes sales and customer data collection, allowing Hades to manage inventory tightly and track buyer behavior. It reduces wholesale complexity and lets the brand capture retail margin. For a small label, controlling the customer journey matters: the brand can build direct relationships, manage storytelling and maintain supply chain transparency.

The Soho pop-up provides a concentrated real-world touchpoint. Pop-ups perform several strategic functions: they allow customers to feel and try the garments, which is crucial for knitwear that relies on tactile appreciation; they create press and influencer activation opportunities; and they strengthen local visibility. Soho’s foot traffic and cultural cachet make it a pragmatic choice for a brand that operates at the intersection of fashion and art. Week-long or weekend pop-ups distill momentum and create urgency—customers who want to experience the collection physically must attend within a narrow window.

This hybrid strategy is efficient for a small brand with high-touch production. E-commerce ensures nationwide (and potentially international) access; the pop-up amplifies brand identity through curated physical experience. Both channels respect the limited nature of the capsule while maximizing consumer engagement.

Cultural Resonance: Why a Tilda Swinton Collaboration Matters

Tilda Swinton’s public identity is a curated mix of intellectual curiosity, artistic experimentation and a refusal of simplistic celebrity branding. Her filmography and public life are marked by projects that veer toward the challenging and the conceptual, and her personal style frequently occupies territory that is both androgynous and theatrical. That orientation aligns with Hades’ design language—punctuated, eccentric, and countercultural.

Celebrities can lend brands attention; the form that attention takes depends on the celebrity’s perceived authenticity. In Swinton’s case, the value is twofold: her name amplifies visibility, but her persona also maps convincingly onto Hades’ ethos. That alignment reduces the chance that the collaboration will be read as a cynical marketing play. It positions the collection as a creative conversation worth critical attention.

Collaborations between artists and small labels are increasingly common—for both creative and commercial reasons. Artists provide a narrative, a set of aesthetic signifiers and, often, a built-in audience. Small brands grant space for experimentation that larger houses may not. The result can be a virtuous loop: artists gain a tangible medium for their ideas; brands acquire cultural content that elevates their collections beyond simple product releases.

The use of Swinton’s poem and speech adds a distinct dimension. Apparel that carries direct text from an artist functions differently than a garment that borrows a visual motif. It becomes an extroverted register of thought. Text on clothing has always been a political instrument—from protest signage to the slogan shirts of pop culture—but when the text is written by a public intellectual, it elevates the garment into something like a portable pamphlet. That raises questions about the interplay of fashion, rhetoric and political posture: who is speaking, and who listens?

These dynamics matter for how audiences interpret the pieces. For admirers of Swinton’s work, wearing a skirt printed with a line from her poem is a form of cultural alignment—an expression that merges taste with ideas. For fashion consumers interested in craft, the Hawick provenance and the material integrity provide the necessary counterbalance to the rhetorical statement. The capsule, therefore, appeals to multiple constituencies at once.

Market Context: Celebrity Capsules, Independent Labels, and the Economics of Scarcity

Collaborations between public figures and fashion brands are a staple of industry strategy. Historically, large retailers partnered with big-name designers to democratize high fashion; in recent years, indie labels have pursued artist collaborations as a route to cultural relevance. Hades’ partnership with Swinton fits into this latter category, where the exchange is not just commercial but also creative and curatorial.

From an economic perspective, collaborations can boost brand recognition and justify premium pricing. But for small labels, scaling without compromising quality is the central challenge. Hades addresses that by keeping the capsule small, grounding production locally, and choosing materials and processes that support higher per-unit costs. The price points—$237 to $677—acknowledge labor and materials while remaining accessible to an invested niche audience.

Scarcity functions here as both a market tactic and a sustainability play. Limited runs reduce waste and allow small factories to operate without the demands of mass production. They also create desirability. For consumers accustomed to immediate, mass-market access, a scarce, well-made object offers a different value proposition: it’s not disposable; it’s a collectible or a considered purchase.

The market response to such collaborations often depends on distribution choices and narrative control. Exclusive e-commerce releases help brands retain margin and proprietary customer data, while pop-ups and limited run displays create the performative cachet necessary for press coverage. Hades has chosen both paths, offering a sustainable playbook for small brands that want to collaborate with cultural figures without losing their brand identity.

What This Collaboration Signals for Hades and Swinton

For Hades, the continued collaboration with Tilda Swinton amplifies the brand’s profile without diluting its identity. The sisters have translated a celebrity relationship into product genuinely aligned with their aesthetic. That reinforces Hades’ positioning as a purveyor of eccentric, craft-centered knitwear rather than a label chasing transient trends.

For Swinton, the partnership extends her practice of engaging with cultural production outside of film. By translating her writing and speeches into wearable objects, she broadens the reach of her ideas. Rather than a vanity project, the collaboration reads as a deliberate act: a way of translating philosophy into material culture and supporting local craftsmanship in her adopted home region.

Broadly, the capsule underscores the viability of small-scale collaborations as a strategy for both cultural expression and business growth. When anchored in craft and thoughtful production choices, such collaborations can be commercially viable and culturally meaningful. They resist the commodification that characterizes many celebrity tie-ins by insisting on quality, narrative coherence and limited scale.

FAQ

Q: What is the "Notes From the Precipice" capsule and who made it?
A: "Notes From the Precipice" is a six-piece capsule collection created by Hades—the British knitwear and ready-to-wear label founded by sisters Cassie and Isabel Holland—in collaboration with actress Tilda Swinton. It includes screen-printed cotton skirts and a dress, knitted jumpers and skirts, and ruffle-trimmed handbags made from deadstock fabric.

Q: Where were the pieces produced?
A: The knitted pieces were made in Hawick, Scotland, at Hades' manufacturing facility, where Swinton visited in 2024 to meet the craftspeople involved. The handbags use deadstock fabric, and cotton pieces were printed using water-based inks.

Q: What materials and processes does the capsule emphasize?
A: The garments are 100% cotton for the printed pieces and knitted materials for the frocks and jumpers. Prints use eco-friendly water-based inks. Handbags incorporate deadstock fabrics, reusing surplus material from previous production runs.

Q: How is Tilda Swinton involved creatively?
A: Swinton contributed not only text—excerpts from her poem "Notes For Radical Living" and lines from her 2025 Berlinale speech—but also practical design input. She suggested designs for the knitted frock and skirt, which were realized by the Hawick craftspeople.

Q: What is the significance of using Swinton’s poetry and speech on garments?
A: Printing a living artist's text onto garments brings speech and textile into direct alignment. The approach converts clothing into a vehicle for personal and political statements, allowing wearers to embody and broadcast ideas. It moves beyond superficial celebrity branding into a zone where text, craft, and cultural identity intersect.

Q: How much does the capsule cost and where can it be bought?
A: Prices range from $237 to $677. The collection is available exclusively through Hades’ e-commerce platform and at a weekend pop-up in Soho, London.

Q: Is the collection sustainable?
A: The capsule incorporates several sustainable practices—water-based inks and deadstock fabric use for handbags—while centering on locally produced knitwear in Hawick. The choice of 100% cotton and limited production runs further reduce the environmental impact relative to mass production, though the article does not specify certifications or the full sourcing details for the cotton.

Q: How does this collaboration fit within broader fashion trends?
A: It exemplifies a trend where small labels collaborate with cultural figures in ways that prioritize craft, narrative and limited scale. Rather than pursuing mass-market celebrity endorsements, such partnerships emphasize authenticity, local manufacturing and design coherence.

Q: What makes Hawick important to this collection?
A: Hawick’s long-standing knitwear tradition provides technical skill, machinery and finishing know-how crucial to high-quality knitted garments. Producing in Hawick gives Hades provenance, supports local manufacturing, and contributes to the garments' durability and finish.

Q: Will Hades continue collaborating with other artists or public figures?
A: The brand has shown a willingness to pursue thoughtful collaborations—its repeat partnership with Swinton suggests it values deep creative relationships. Future collaborations will likely be guided by the same criteria: aesthetic alignment, craft emphasis and meaningful creative exchange.

Q: Who should consider buying pieces from this capsule?
A: Buyers who value artisanal knitwear, distinctive design with intellectual undertones, and limited-run garments that prioritize quality over quantity will find this capsule appealing. Fans of Tilda Swinton’s work or those attracted to playful, text-driven fashion will also be within the target audience.

Q: How does the capsule balance humor and seriousness?
A: Hades maintains its wit—slogans like "Make Friends With Chaos" carry a playful edge—while the use of Swinton's poetry adds gravitas. The combination allows the collection to be both provocatively humorous and intellectually resonant.

Q: Are returns and shipping available internationally?
A: The article specifies availability through Hades' e-commerce and a Soho pop-up but does not detail return policies or international shipping. Interested buyers should consult Hades’ website directly for current shipping, returns and sizing information.

Q: How limited is the capsule?
A: Exact production numbers are not provided. The six-piece structure and exclusive retail channels suggest a limited run consistent with Hades' small-batch production model.

Q: Does the collection indicate a shift in Swinton's public engagements beyond film?
A: Collaborating on wearable art extends Swinton's engagement with cultural production and activism. Translating speech and poetry into garments is a deliberate act of making ideas portable and visible.

Q: How can I style pieces from this capsule?
A: Styling will depend on personal taste. The jumpers and skirts can layer with structured coats for contrast, or be paired with elongated boots for a modern silhouette. The ruffle-trimmed handbags provide a vivid accent and can be used to punctuate neutral outfits. Given the textual focus, consider minimal accessory choices to let the garment’s message remain the focal point.

Q: Will Hades restock sold-out pieces?
A: No restock policy is stated in the article. Given the limited nature of the capsule and the brand’s production model, restocking may be unlikely. Prospective buyers should act promptly if interested.

Q: Does the collection support any charitable causes?
A: The source article does not mention charitable affiliations or donations linked to the capsule.

Q: Where can I find more information or press materials about the capsule?
A: Hades’ official e-commerce site and its press releases are the primary sources. Press imagery and statements were circulated alongside the capsule launch; interested readers should consult Hades’ online channels for updates and official photography.

If you have additional questions about individual pieces, sizing, or the production process, specify which area you’d like expanded and further detail can be provided.