Situated between art, design and social history, The Inventors of Tradition offers a subjective account of the Scottish textiles industry from the 1930s onwards. It brings together examples of significant design alongside archival material from individuals and companies, as well as a selection of short documentary films drawn from the Scottish Screen Archive. In response, artist Lucy McKenzie and designer Beca Lipscombe of Atelier have developed a series of new works, spanning clothing, furniture and accessories.

The publication includes an introduction by Atelier (Beca Lipscombe and Lucy McKenzie) and Panel (Catriona Duffy and Lucy McEachan), alongside texts by Lucy McKenzie, Mairi MacKenzie, Nicholas Oddy, Jonathan Murray and Linda Watson.