Alistair Carr takes over at Pringle of Scotland

Alistair Carr has been named as Pringle of Scotland's new design director.

The Balenciaga designer succeeds creative director Clare Waight Keller at the luxurious label and he will present his first Pringle collection in September for spring/summer 2012.

Jean Fang, Pringle of Scotland's chief executive, told the Telegraph newspaper: "We are thrilled to have Alistair on board. His passion for both cutting-edge and contemporary luxury design is the perfect alliance for Pringle of Scotland, and we look forward to continuing our success as an international luxury brand with an emphasis in knitwear."

Alastair - who completed his womenswear MA at Central Saint Martins - was until recently in charge of the design team at Balenciaga under Nicolas Ghesquiere and has previously worked at Marni, Cacharel and Chloe. He also showed his own label at London Fashion Week for three seasons.

Clare announced her resignation earlier this month after being at the label since 2005.

The designer - who is pregnant with her third child - said: "It's a sad moment - but the perfect time to close my era at Pringle. I leave incredibly proud of Pringle's growth from a Scottish knitwear company to an international luxury brand. And to a certain extent, this move is for personal reasons."

Pringle of Scotland's latest campaign was fronted by Tilda Swinton.