Nearly a year on from its release, the Banshees of Inisherin sticks with readers for many things. Not least of which for the incredible sweaters. And now you can get that same look with the Colin sweater from the Irish clothing company The Tweed Project. Named for the star of the film, Colin Farrell, the Colin sweater is a replica of the one worn by Farrell’s Pádraic Súilleabháin, which has a
classic, chunky style and wide collar.
To understand the sweater, one should first understand the film’s setting. The film takes place in 1923, at the end of the Irish Civil War, on the remote, fictional island of Inisherin. Wardrobe designer Eimer Ní Mhaoldomhnaigh opted for garments that not only reflects necessity but warmth and craftsmanship.
With the limited resources available to an Ireland at war (and the limited income for Pádraic himself, a dairy farmer), it only makes sense that a wardrobe like his would have to be as utilitarian as possible. Though it still highlights the heritage and charm of Irish knitwear through the style and patterns of the famous sweaters from the Aran Islands off the west coast of mainland Ireland. These chunky wool sweaters were made for local fishermen and their families to combat the natural elements and rough seas. The distinctive patterns became a testament to the craftsmanship of Ireland.
Around the halfway mark in the film, we see Colin Farrell step out of his small bolthole of a home in the sweater. While it’s a small scene in the overall film, this particular sweater seems to have not gone unnoticed by Vogue editors, menswear Instagram accounts, and other celebrities. Until June, most of us who had fantasized about owning this sweater had to search eBay for something similar and hope – pray! – that it would be enough to satisfy our desire to pull off such a garment.
No longer. The Tweed Project teamed up with the film’s costume designer to bring a pitch-perfect reproduction of the sweater to life, just in time for the cooler months ahead. Utilizing Mhaoldomhnaigh’s original design and collaborating with her directly, the Colin is a 100 percent wool jumper that includes “the unique collar, sleeves and back [which are] all knit in a stocking stitch with the front also incorporating panels of moss stitch and cross and diamond motif,” the website explains. It’s this variation of stitch types that ultimately give the Colin a presence that’s noticeable on and off the screen.
The Tweed Project has expanded the original red variation of the sweater to also include gray, blue, and cream-colored options. Each sweater is hand-knit by a team of artisans who use traditional practices to achieve the intricacies of the stitch variations in each garment. At €790 (around $850), the cost reflects the labor that has gone into this garment, meaning you’re investing in a piece that will last a lifetime (or, at the very least, longer than Pádraic and Colm’s friendship).
