Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games tartan inspired by city’s shipbuilding heritage

A fashion designer whose outfits have been worn by actor Alan Cumming and singer Justin Bieber has created a tartan for the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games.

Siobhan Mackenzie started her career in a graduate tailoring technician role at Glasgow 2014 and designed the Team Scotland parade outfits for Birmingham 2022.

The Glasgow 2026 tartan features blue, pink and purple tones against a steel grey base inspired by the city’s shipbuilding heritage.

It will be made in Scotland, using local textiles and manufacturers, and its first appearance will be on the clothing of the Games mascot – whose identity will be revealed later this month.

Ms Mackenzie will also design a bespoke tartan for Team Scotland athletes and officials.

She has her own brand inspired by her Highland heritage and she previously worked with Ferrari on a new tartan.

Siobhan Mackenzie selects yarn for the Glasgow 2026 official tartan PA Media

Fans will be able to buy official Glasgow 2026 tartan merchandise, and it will be added to the Scottish Register of Tartans.

The grey base has a thread count of 74 to represent the nations and territories competing at Glasgow 2026 and the dark blue section has been increased to 26 in homage to the Games taking place from July 23 to August 2, 2026.

Four venues in Glasgow will host more than 3,000 athletes competing in 10 sports programmes over the 10 days.

More than 200 medals will be up for grabs, including in a record-breaking Para sport programme with 47 events across six sports; the biggest track cycling, swimming and 3×3 basketball competitions seen at a Commonwealth Games; and the return of events like the Commonwealth mile in athletics.

Ms Mackenzie said: “I feel honoured to be designing a tartan for such a momentous occasion in my home country.

“When I graduated as a fashion design student in 2014, I took on a role as a tailoring technician for the technical officials of the Games. At that point, designing the official tartan for the Games seemed like a pipedream – so this is truly a full circle moment.

“I love weaving stories into tartan design and while many people might be expecting a blue or green base, I looked at Glasgow’s rich history and felt inspired by the shipbuilding stories.

“This led to a steel grey base with the Glasgow 2026 colours woven through in my signature style.

“It’s incredibly important to me that every thread of this project is made in Scotland and I’ll be working with local textiles and manufacturers to bring this design to life, and I can’t wait to see it across next year’s Games.”

Phil Batty, chief executive of Glasgow 2026, said: “Designing and creating tartan is a revered part of Scotland’s heritage and we’re honoured that Siobhan Mackenzie is weaving it into Glasgow 2026’s story with a bespoke Games tartan, designed in Scotland.

“Siobhan is an expert in her field and has collaborated closely with us throughout the production process.

“This special tartan draws inspiration from Glasgow’s Clyde-built history, and she has carefully selected the threads of wool to celebrate the Games with this one-off tartan.

“As Glasgow 2026 fast approaches with our one-year-to-go milestone next week, this tartan is a sign of what’s to come next summer and will be part of the fabric of Glasgow 2026 across the city.”