King Charles’s coronation might be a once-in-a-lifetime experience for royalists across the world but for one Maltese man, the occasion could also see his luzzu-inspired tweed crowned The Coronation Tweed by a world-renowned tailoring company.

And if the tweed design wins, Kristian Zarb Adami has promised he will run the University of Malta’s ring road in a jacket made from the textile with the winning pattern atop a pair of shorts.

When he is not stargazing, researching or teaching physics to tertiary students, Zarb Adami spends his free time cycling or appreciating tailoring.

His love for textiles and tailoring recently saw him create a concept for a tweed for his family, inspired by his brother-in-law’s Scottish heritage and Malta’s colours.

Traditionally, Scottish clans have their own unique tartan pattern and tweed; a woollen fabric usually made in twill weaves.

Together with Scottish textile weaver Sam Goates, from the company Woven in the Bone, he had settled on a Mediterranean-style design inspired by the colours of the Maltese luzzu (a traditional Maltese fishing boat). Zarb Adami’s love for this colour palette has also seen him wrap his beloved bicycle with the luzzu colours.

“I originally came up with the concept for this tweed for my family – I was looking for something that was versatile and suitable both for male and female outfits – the blue represents the sky and the sea while the yellow represents the sun and the red is for the Maltese Mediterranean passion.”

The tweed design (circled) that made it among the top 10 finalists.

It so happens that Huntsman, which has produced handcrafted clothes for decades and has had its London shop feature in the blockbuster movie franchise Kingsman, runs a yearly tweed competition.

This year being a special year for the British monarchy because of King Charles III’s coronation, Zarb Adami thought of submitting a couple of the tweed designs brought to life together with Goates.

One of them was chosen as a finalist with nine others and the public is now being asked to choose the favourite.

Huntsman is looking for a tweed fit for a king, it says on the competition page.

“To celebrate the coronation of King Charles III, Huntsman encouraged people from around the world to get creative and design an original tweed fit for royalty.

“Now we invite you to vote for your favourite design and help us decide our finalists.”

The winning design will be produced as a Huntsman exclusive 60-metre bolt, from which the winner will have a bespoke jacket created. 

The cloth will also become one of Huntsman’s exclusive house cloths and will be called The Coronation Tweed.

People can vote for the Malta-inspired tweed here.