If you’re Italian and reading this, the words Burns Night might not ring any bells. But for Scottish people, it’s a date marked firmly on the calendar. Every year on January 25th, people around the world raise a glass to Robert Burns, Scotland’s most iconic poet, celebrating poetry, culture, community, and the beauty of everyday life.
And for two Scottish students living in Italy, Burns Night became more than just a tradition — it became a way to connect cultures, cities, and stories through fashion.
Image: londonschool
What Is Burns Night?
Burns Night is an annual celebration held on January 25th to honour the life and work of Robert Burns, a poet who is deeply woven into Scottish identity. Traditionally, it’s marked by gatherings called Burns Suppers, where people share food, poetry readings, music, and moments of reflection.
At the heart of the celebration is not formality, but community. Burns Night is about coming together — friends, family, sometimes even strangers — to celebrate language, humour, and the small moments that make life meaningful. Even when celebrated far from Scotland, Burns Night carries the same spirit: remembering where you come from while embracing where you are.
Robert Burns and the Beauty of the Everyday
Born in 1759 and raised on a farm, Robert Burns wasn’t interested in polished versions of society. He wrote about real people, real emotions, and real moments — love, friendship, humour, and the social scenes he lived inside.
Writing in both Scots and English, Burns used the language people actually spoke. His poetry documented everyday life as it was being lived, which is exactly why his work still resonates today. From “Auld Lang Syne” to “Address to a Haggis”, Burns captured culture in its most honest form.
That same idea – documenting culture through the everyday – is what inspired Clobber Collettivo.
Clobber Collettivo: When Scotland Meets Italy
Clobber Collettivo was born by chance. Two young Scottish women — one from the Isle of Harris, the other from Glasgow — met while studying in Italy and ended up sharing a flat in Brescia, just an hour from Milan.
One studied harp at the Conservatoire, the other studied Italian and taught English at a local high school. Between lessons, concerts, and weekend trips, they travelled, made friends, and slowly fell in love with Italian life. Today, their lives are split between Milan and St Andrews, but their connection remains strong.
Distance doesn’t change what brought them together – Fashion!
The name Clobber Collettivo reflects exactly that blend of cultures: clobber is a Scottish word for clothing, while collettivo means collective in Italian. Much like Robert Burns found poetry in everyday moments, ‘O wad some Power the giftie gie us’, Clobber Collettivo uses street style to tell stories — real outfits, real people, real cities.
Fashion as a Cultural Language
Living in Italy made one thing clear: many Italians are unfamiliar with traditional Scottish dress, especially the kilt — a pleated tartan garment worn during celebrations and ceremonies.
For Clobber Collettivo, this became an opportunity. Both founders grew up immersed in traditional Scottish music and dress, performing in choirs and studying at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. Fashion, for them, was never just about trends — it was about identity.
Their captions move between English, Italian, and Scottish Gaelic, reflecting the layered cultures behind each outfit. Through fashion, they explore how clothes express who we are, where we come from, and how we move through the world.
Celebrating the Everyday, Wherever You Are
Burns Night celebrates more than a poet. It celebrates the small, ordinary moments that shape culture. And whether you’re in Scotland, Italy, or somewhere in between, those moments still matter.
Through Clobber Collettivo, everyday outfits become stories — connecting Scotland and Italy through language, fashion, and lived experience.
Wherever you are on January 25th, raise a glass, wear something fabulous, and celebrate the everyday moments that bring us closer together.
Article contributed by Vienne Brett and Mairi Anna Binns for Easy Milano
Follow their journey on Instagram: @clobbercollettivo
