Alexander Johnston founded what became Johnstons of Elgin in 1797 on the banks of the River Lossie in Scotland, originally as a linen and oatmeal business before it shifted into luxury textiles during the 19th century. In 1851 the company bought a single bale of cashmere fiber from a London supplier and became the first Scottish mill to weave with it, alongside pioneering the Estate Tweed patterns still used as highland-estate camouflage. The Harrison family bought the business in 1920, and their descendants, the Urquharts, still run it today across two mills (weaving in Elgin, knitting in Hawick), holding three Royal Warrants for tweeds, knitwear and woven accessories.