Now Showing our Fall /Winter 25 Collection...and Spring Summer 2026
Knit swatch collection and knitwear design consultancy
Yellow Minnow is a knit swatch and design development company with over 30 years’ experience working with some of the world’s best known designers and brands.
Our collection is inspirational, on trend, and known for its colour, creativity and craftsmanship, exploring new technical possibilities as well as traditional.
Knit swatch collection & inspiration
Our knit swatch portfolio is vibrant and innovative, bringing a breath of fresh air and creativity to knitwear. The collection is seasonal, highly trend driven and comprises of around 200 new swatches a season, bringing you all of the latest trends in colour, pattern and stitch techniques in all gauges from fine gauge to hand knit and crochet.
Our designs inspire womens, mens and childrens wear companies from around the world and include many of the most exclusive designers and biggest global brands.
Our unique and extensive knitwear know how can guide you through the collection and help you select designs that are not only exciting and fashion forward but also suitable for your existing manufacturing capabilities. So whether you are looking purely inspirational, or ideas to slot straight into your existing collection, we are sure to have something for you!
We are currently showing our Spring/Summer 2025 knit swatch collection online and in person.
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Yellow Minnow will be previewing Fall/Winter 2025 in Paris at CREATE 30th June & 1st July in the heart of the Marais.
Collaborations and collections
With our flair for colour and design, teamed with knitwear expertise, many years of experience designing and links to yarn companies and knitwear manufacturers, we are able to assist in all areas of development. From designing unique swatches for a particular trend or specific customer, to advising on yarn selection, delivering specific trend packages, working on capsule collections and runway garments, having design director roles on entire collections, or even working with factories through to showroom samples, we have the experience!
We have also had our own collection and worked on various collabs with designer brands, so we know what it takes, and look forward to embarking on a new knitwear adventure!
About us
Maggie Smith and Ann Wilson founded the design consultancy Yellow Minnow after studying textile design at Brighton University.
Yellow Minnow is a design consultancy showing a knit swatch collection as well as collaborating with designers and brands.
Collaborations and highlights
From concept to catwalk
Marc Jacobs – working directly with Marc to develop our swatches into catwalk garments for SS1996, AW 1996, SS 1997 and getting the front cover of WWD from the show as well as large features in Vogue.
Helmut Lang – working with the original design team to create runway garments for AW 2001, SS 2002 and AW 2002 getting the front cover of WWD and featuring in a double page advert for Helmut Lang.
Topman – working with the design team from initial concept to designing and producing the show garments for TMD runway collections from 2013 to 2018.
Louis Vuitton – initial project working with Marc Jacob on his first year at Louis Vuitton developing embroideries, logo and knit for the new collections.
Chloe – initial project, working with Stella McCartney and Phoebe Philo on their first collection of knitwear at Chloe.
Gucci – developing designs and show garments for 1997,1998 and 2000.
Ann and Maggie have also been knitwear designers or design directors for various collections.
Wilson Estella1996—2002
Their own collection of luxury women’s knitwear from fine gauge to chunky handknits and crochet. Stockists included Barneys NY, LA and Japan, Browns, À La Mode and The Cross (London), United Arrows (Japan), as well as many other boutiques worldwide.
Cashmere Studio1998-2000
A contemporary cashmere collection for Murray Allan, produced in Hawick, Scotland.
More recently
Maggie has been design director for Oyatt a luxury alpaca womenswear collection produced in Bolivia.
Design director for Cecil Estella, a contemporary designer collection or knitwear and wovens, launched in New York, from concept of the brand , all design aspects including print design and seeing concepts through to showroom samples. Illustrations through to art direction of the look book.
Concept and design director of Otoline Elritze, a luxury handknit collection.
Casey Casey 2016-present.
Ann is the knitwear designer and creative head of special projects for knit and embroidery at Casey Casey. Establishing knitwear within the men’s and women’s collections and developing and producing embroidery for Casey Casey and Dover Street Market special projects.
Special projects
Barneys
Derek Lam
Brooks Brothers
Boden
Rebecca Taylor
Kate Spade
Vika Gazinskaya
Anthropologie
Pucci
Yves Saint Laurent
Future Forward sustainable home and interiors collection.
Yellow Minnow Sketch
Maggie has also become an exhibited artist of botanical paintings and drawings, exhibiting in galleries including The Royal Watercolour Society 2023 Open at the Bankside Gallery
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