About Us
Our Vision
Established in 2017 by master kilt tailor, Marion Foster, the College is dedicated to promoting and raising awareness of the beauty, craft, and artistry that is an essential part of a bespoke tailored kilt. The College is acutely aware that traditional tailoring of the kilt using centuries-old techniques, is now an endangered craft. The traditions, processes, methods, and nuances first pioneered by the Highland Regiment tailors in the 1700s, are at risk of being lost.
The College’s vision is to create a community of individuals and organisations that will safeguard the traditions of the past, both for the present and the future.
The MBE for services to Scottish Craftsmanship
Marion Foster, founder of the College of Master Kilt Tailors and the bespoke kilt tailoring business “Askival of Strathearn” has been made an MBE for her services to Scottish craftsmanship in the New Year Honours 2026.
“The award has given me a refreshed and profound belief in the vision of the College of Master Kilt Tailors. It has given me confidence and strength to continue my dedication to making a difference, by delivering and developing the online training programme, resulting in master kilt tailors with the only endorsed and approved certification in the UK (possibly the world).
This programme represents the culmination of my experience and knowledge, a living archive of skills and traditions that I hoped to pass on to the next generation of craftsmen.
One would wonder why the craft of kilt making/tailoring is an endangered craft when there is a huge global demand for the kilt. It’s because the manufactured and ‘off the peg’ kilts are feeding the demand and the kiltmakers supplying the Highland wear shops are a very small part of the end price point. It does not provide a viable livelihood, but it could.”
The MBE is a “stepping stone to ensure the preservation of our cultural heritage where the unique identity of Scottish craftsmanship would be celebrated and preserved for generations to come.”
Women of the Year 2026
Marion Foster MBE was one of 400 women nominated and invited to the Women of the Year Lunch and Awards 2026 on Monday, 12th October at the Royal Lancaster London Hotel.
The first Women of the Year Lunch in 1955 – at which 500 exceptional women were honoured – was the brainchild of Tony (Antonella) Lothian, a 33-year-old mother of six. It took place at a time when Britain was radically changing as a result of the war and the Labour government that followed, which she voted for, and was the first of its kind. Since then, Women of the Year has proudly recognised and celebrated the achievements of some of the world’s most incredible and bravest women, and this year was no exception.
The 72nd Women of the Year Lunch and Awards brought together remarkable women from all walks of life to celebrate extraordinary achievements, leadership, and purpose-driven impact across society. Every woman selected to attend the annual lunch is honoured as a Woman of the Year, and at the event, eight special awards were presented to exceptional individuals and collectives whose resilience, innovation, and courage continue to make a lasting difference.
This year has been such a landmark year for Marion and everyone involved with The College of Master Kilt Tailors as her vision for keeping the heritage craft of kilt tailoring alive for future generations comes alive and gathers pace.
The dedication and hard work has been recognised by @WOY2026 and it was a privilege to be nominated and invited to attend the lunch with such an inspiring constellation of women from across the country and beyond.
She celebrated the event in the most fitting way, by making her own dress to attend the function, created using the 3oz 2x2 twill weave 100% silk in Muted Strathearn with a 120 year old Victorian hand made lace collar from Little Viking Vintage, a fabulous Etsy shop that specialises in antique accessories.
LinkedIn: @womenoftheyear • Instagram: @womenofyear • X: @womenofyear • Facebook: @womenoftheyear
A home for learning & preservation
The importance of the College in keeping centuries-old traditions alive cannot be underestimated. Through its unique programme, the College helps students to fully appreciate the beauty of bespoke kilt tailoring and gives them the tools and the accreditation to safeguard the craft into the future. Alongside raising public awareness of the importance of the bespoke tailored kilt, the College wants to make learning the craft more accessible to those who are inspired to be master kilt tailors, or to those who wish to fulfill their creative desire to create a kilt for themselves, a love done, or special person.
Students enrolling on the programme are investing in the preservation of a shared cultural history. Their completed work will form an essential part of sustaining the skills of the craftsmen of the past.
College Founder – Marion Foster
Marion Foster is one of Scotland’s few remaining kilt tailors whose focus is on the craft of tailoring as opposed to simply carrying out a process or manufacturing. After years of creating handmade kilts to the very highest standards, she recognised that the craft and techniques she had meticulously mastered over many years were in danger of dying out and needed to be safeguarded.
Marion has always wanted to pass on her knowledge and skills to others. After creating hours of training videos and manuals, she started offering them online in 2020, and this became an officially accredited programme in 2022. In setting up the College, her hope and belief are that by offering an accredited programme, students will be able to set up their own businesses, using traditional knowledge and skills to preserve a vital heritage and develop a vibrant cultural legacy.
Her work honours the traditional tailoring techniques and processes used by the regimental master tailors to create the ceremonial Highland dress. With her passion for the beauty, craft, and techniques involved in traditional kiltmaking, the College, its programme, and the interest of future students, are in safe hands.
“Working under Marion’s tutelage was a hugely rewarding and enriching experience.”
Our Students
Training to be a kilt tailor is an exacting and fun process. At The College of Master Kilt Tailors, we have access to resources provided not only by the college’s founder and trainer, Marion Foster but also by our fellow students.
Our students come from very different backgrounds, some of them adjacent to tailoring (for example, sewing, embroidery, and other fibre-related crafts) and some of them not (for example, business, military, teaching, or managing households and families). This variety creates an energy that would otherwise be missing if we all had similar experiences.
All our students are on their own creative journey – whether they want to become professional kilt tailors or whether they want to make kilts purely for the joy of it – and it is joyful! Whatever their background, and whatever their ultimate aim, they study and work hard whilst enjoying sharing their experiences and learnings with each other.
“Thank you very much for the wonderful course at your Kilt College.”
Our Community
Led by Marion Foster, the College is essentially a community of like-minded people, dedicated to understanding and practicing the kilt-making skills of previous master tailors. Everyone who enrols as a student is proud to be able to share this knowledge and skill, both across the College community and with a wider audience.
The appeal of the College is worldwide, a testament to the enduring draw of the kilt as both an emblem of and a connection to Scottish culture. Students are from countries as far apart as America and Australia, as well as European neighbours and Scotland itself. Monthly gatherings take place with presentations from a wide variety of guest speakers including historians, weavers, leather workers, and sporran makers, who are all keen to contribute to the unique knowledge bank being created for future generations. These events are in addition to the more frequent tutorials that take place weekly.
“Time spent at this wonderful college is time well spent and very enjoyable.”
Social Enterprise & Sustainability
The College is proud to be one of more than 6,000 Social enterprises in Scotland today. Dynamic and independent businesses, they exist to deliver a specific social and/or environmental mission. Any profits or surpluses go towards their goals – for the College, this is the safeguarding of the heritage craft of kilt tailoring and, by extension, the preservation of a crucial aspect of Scotland’s cultural history.
Being a social enterprise can be a more ethical and sustainable way of doing business, intending to build a fairer society and a more inclusive economy. Kilt tailoring has, in the past, provided no more than ‘pin money’ for homeworkers. The College aims to change the landscape in this regard, enabling those who want to start their own business as kilt tailors to be fairly compensated, not only for the cost of the beautiful cloth they use but also for the skills developed and time spent on creating quality, durable, timeless kilts that will last for generations.
The Future
For the College to achieve its purpose and mission, it needs to continue to attract students from around the world who value craftsmanship, tradition, a sense of Scottish heritage, and a mutual purpose to protect the highest possible standards of kilt tailoring. We are confident that our already passionate, dedicated, and vibrant community of students will continue to grow, and unite around the shared joy of creating the finest quality heritage garments.
The College has already laid a solid foundation for securing the future of the traditionally tailored kilt, and we look forward to expanding our influence and reach so that an important Scottish cultural legacy is kept alive by committed and skilled practitioners.
