At the age of five Claire Waight keller began knitting, having been taught by her mother.
She then went on to study at Ravensbourne College of Art, where she graduated with a BA in fashion, before completing her MA in Fashion Knitwear at The Royal College of Art.
Her final graduation collection impressed Calvin Klein so much that upon graduated; she worked on womenswear at Calvin Klein just as the minimalist spirit was taking over fashion. This was followed by a role at Ralph Lauren, which saw her working as the senior designer of Purple Label Menswear and gave her a fantastic knowledge of tailoring - something that she still draws upon today.
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In 2000 she was hired by Tom Ford at Gucci to work alongside Francisco Costa and Christopher Bailey as a senior designer. This was followed by her role as creative director of Pringle of Scotland in 2005. For Pringle of Scotland, Waight Keller has fused her love of knitwear and tailoring with an elegant sense of proportion and exquisite sense of detail. Clare was given the role of completely reinventing the brand, which she did, presenting her first collection in February 2006. Her first collection with Pringle was effortless and delicate and approached knitwear in a modern way. Each dress was constructed from a single five-meter length of ultra-fine silk yarn, knitted in a lace, which was then draped and wrapped around the body in a seamless piece.
2007 saw her win the award for Scottish Cashmere Designer of the Year at the Scottish Fashion Awards. She also launched Pringle 1815, a diffusion line named after the year the company was founded.
