On July 13, Barbour announced actor Sam Heughan began a two-year role as their first Global Brand Ambassador. TheCelebrityCafe.com was invited to join Heughan at Barbour Madison Avenue in NYC to hear about this new partnership. It is impossible to look into Barbour’s future and understand this fresh endeavor without exploring their deeply rooted history. Helen Barbour, Vice Chairman of J Barbour & Sons Ltd was present to address the 122-year-old family business.
The New Face of Barbour
Fans were elated when Heughan tweeted that Barbour Madison Avenue doors would open to 20 lucky visitors on Sept. 22, who would get to meet the actor. A few dedicated followers began lining up the evening before, sleeping outside the store overnight. By the time TheCelebrityCafe.com arrived at 1:30 the day of, a line of excited people curved around the block. Prior to allowing these fortunate fans their chance to meet the actor, we had a moment to chat with Heughan.
Heughan is best known in America for his role as Jamie Fraser in the Starz drama Outlander. However, this Scottish-born actor is has tackled everything from Romeo and Juliet to Batman Live on stage – and has numerous acclaimed film and TV roles under his belt. Despite wide recognition and fanfare, the actor remains welcoming with fans and friendly in interviews.
When asked how he initially connected with Barbour, Heughan explained: “The Tartan Day Parade – Barbour is a sponsor of that – and I was the grand martial. It was great fun, on 6th Avenue, leading the whole parade, thousands of people there. So we started talking and we realize that I come from the same village that John Barbour, the creator came from. So we had all these connections… I’ve always loved Barbour ever since I was young. I’ve been aware of their clothing and their heritage and their brand. So it just felt very natural. “
Heughan went on to describe how prolific Barbour is among people in his home of Galloway – painting a picture of a countryside full of individuals who work and pass time outdoors. With durability and functionality at the core of this brand, Heughan explains that even after years of wear, customers can send in their jackets back to be re-waxed and mended.
Speaking to the long-term wearibility Barbour jackets offer, Heughan stated: “They showed me this archive they’ve got in South Shields, and it’s all their jackets from when they began. They were created in the 1890s, the 1800s, and they’ve got jackets back from the early 1900’s and they look like jackets today. They look like you could just wear one today and no one would blink.”
As Barbour Global Brand Ambassador, Heughan will take part in various PR events and photoshoots. Additionally, he will design a signature capsule collection. This line will feature Barbour’s exclusive tartans, which have been adapted from the Ayrshire District Tartan – representing the Barbour family origins from the 13th century.
Maintaining Deep Roots
In addition to Sam Heughan, Helen Barbour – the current Vice Chairman of J Barbour & Sons Ltd and future Chairman – flew in from Newcastle to be a part of these events. She was kind enough to take a quiet moment to chat with TheCelebrityCafe.com, shedding further light on the heart of the company.
Before Sam Heughan was named Global Brand Ambassador for Barbour, previous partnerships consisted of the Newcastle Falcons Rugby, E.J. Churchill Shooting Range, Household Cavalry Polo and Lord James Percy. We asked Helen Barbour what it was about Heughan that inspired the brand to break their mold by taking on an individual, actor and Global Brand Ambassador.
“Oh, just that he’s ‘Sottish.’ You know, he’s a country man, he’s all about Barbour. He’s, you know, he’s rugged – he’s just a typical Barbour man. And he’s from the very area that John Barbour originally came from. So he just fits, he ticks every box.”
Fans may be surprised to hear that Helen Barbour does not feel Heughan’s work on Outlander influenced their choice at all. She explained that Outlander is not widely viewed in Scotland, but that it was Heughan’s enthusiasm, background and character that caused Barbour to engage him.
John Barbour built his brand on creating waterproof jackets for fisherman that needed to stay warm and dry. After 122 years in business, having produced garments for royalty and military personnel alike, many would expect Barbour to stray from their initial vision. However, Helen Barbour states “We are still worn by the country people when they go shoot and farm. So we still have all of that. It’s just that I suppose we became kind of fashionable... But every jacket we make is loyal to the design. We don’t ever loose the DNA.”
Embracing Female Leadership
An undeniable piece of the Barbour DNA is a strong line of female leadership. In this rare moment with Helen Barbour, we asked if she or her predecessors had ever felt pushback for embracing women in power within the company. “I think times have changed and for me, when I take over as Chairman, it’s going to be easy. As well because – I think because it’s a family business it doesn’t matter weather I’m a man or a women, because I’m the natural successor … My mom though, she took over in the late ‘60s when, really women’s lib was really just starting. But then, you see she didn’t have a lot of choice.”
Helen Barbour continued “… we’re just as good as men – we’re not better – but we’re just as good. Although I think some feminists do think they are better than men – which can undermine the thing. But its all this kind of ‘Yeah, come on girls, we did it!’ And it's like, hold on, by saying that, aren’t you then enforcing the fact that there’s a difference between men and women? Surely you shouldn’t even think about that… But I think women in the business world do face an issue… That, you know, ‘She’s a women so she has her hormone problems.’ Or, ‘She’s obviously hormonal today so she’s a bit cross.’ So I don’t think that’s gone, but I think it’s a lot less now.”
Moving Toward the Future
Having talked about the past, we asked Helen Barbour what’s next for the brand. “Well, we’ve got Sam’s collection coming out Autumn of ’17, which is kind of ongoing at the moment. But we’re really excited about it, because it’s going to look amazing. It looks really good, what we’ve got so far. He’s really excited about it – he’
s been over and he’s been Skyping with the design team. And having Sam on board just in itself is great, because he’s so charismatic. He’s just fun to be around.”
As our time drew to a close, fans outside grew more excited as their chance to meet Sam Heughan approached. We needed to make way for the incoming lucky individuals – but not before Heughan made some time to hit the photo booth with us, his warm and funny nature Helen Barbour referred to coming through.
Leaving the building, it was clear that the line had grown even longer as people hoped for a chance to meet Heughan before he continued on to the next stop in his day. As we headed down the block, cheers erupted as the first few people were lead into Barbour Madison, their days thoroughly made.