Pringle appoints new creative director

Pringle of Scotland, the iconic British knitwear label, has appointed Clare Waight Keller as its first-ever creative director. Keller, who leaves Gucci to head up the newly created post, is to make Pringle a success in America , after a GBP7m cash injection from Hong Kong owner Kenneth Fang. But her first, much more urgent, task is to acquaint herself with the Glebe in Hawick, where its knitwear development centre is based.

Time is short: Ms Keller's debut autumn/winter 2006 menswear, womenswear and accessories collections will be shown in Milan in January and February. She is also due in Milan in September to celebrate the company's 190th birthday with a show to give a flavour of things to come.

The London-based designer has been head of womenswear with Tom Ford at Gucci for the past five years. She has a BA in fashion and textiles from Central St Martins in London , in addition to an MA in fashion knitwear from the Royal Col lege of Art.