Kilts Take Center Stage at Wimbledon

British fans don the kilt to support national tennis hope, Scotsman Andy Murray.

ByABC News
February 12, 2009, 12:40 PM

LONDON, June 23, 2008 — -- It's that time of the year again in London, England, when tennis fans will make their way to the grass courts at Wimbledon, armed with bowls of strawberries and cream, and dressed in kilts.

That's right, the Scottish tartan is set to be the outfit du jour for many British fans, here to cheer on the national hope, Scotsman Andy Murray, seeded 12th.

With Britons Tim Henman and Greg Rusedski both out of the reckoning, all eyes are now on the 21-year-old Murray. And observers expect many of his more avid fans to don the kilt as a gesture of support for the young player.

So much so that a London dry-cleaning service, the American Dry Cleaning Co., has set up a special kilt-cleaning service to cater exclusively to those who are mad for Murray.

Benjamin Webb, a spokesman for the company, told ABC News that it is "trying to be ahead of the game."

"When Tim Henman was popularly known as Tiger Tim, I remember seeing people wear all these T-shirts with tigers on them," Webb recalled.

Now that Henman Hill part of the grounds where tennis fans gather to watch Wimbledon, once known as Rusedski ridge has been re-named Murray Mount by the tennis-watching public, companies are keen to cash in on the Scotsman's burgeoning popularity.

But this newfound fondness for the kilt is not just about Murray, according to Webb.

"Lots of British people are rediscovering their Scottish roots," he said. "At Ascot, several men showed up wearing kilts this year; it seems to be more popular than ever before.

"In the mid-90s, there was this series of films 'Braveheart,' 'Rob Roy' and, then, 'Four Weddings and a Funeral' which brought kilts back into the popular imagination."

And, with designers such as Jean Paul Gaultier and Vivienne Westwood making the kilt a must-have among the fashionable set, it's no surprise to hear that the popularity of the tartan is making waves even as far afield as Russia, where the famous literary family, the Lermontovs, ordered their own tartan, after discovering their Scottish roots.