He’ll stick to his kilt, thank you very much

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Credit : Barbour

Outlander‘s second season may have just come to its devastating conclusion, but Outlander fans can still get their dose of dreamy Jamie Fraser, a.k.a. Sam Heughan, gift wrapped under their tree this Christmas — thanks to his latest collaboration with heritage brand Barbour.

Heughan was named the brand’s global ambassador in July, and since then, he’s taken up the tartan mantle to front the brand’s holiday campaign and help design a capsule for early 2017.

The 36-year-old actor, who first collaborated with Barbour when he led the charge as the Grand Marshal in N.Y.C.’s New York Tartan Day parade in February, is no stranger to manly plaid attire and verdant British hillsides, thanks to his Outlander experience. (He’s also no stranger to the dangers of wearing a kilt on wet grass.)

But for this campaign, shot at Oxford, England’s grand Wytham Abbey, he added something even more delicious to the mix: two adorable puppies (yes, seriously — feast your eyes!).

“I worked with a couple of chocolate Labradors, which were a lot of fun. Very excitable,” Heughan tells PeopleStyle. “They’re cute. I think they should actually… be the new face of Barbour.” (We beg to differ!)

He also gave a little insight into what fans can expect from his first clothing collaboration for the brand. “I hope I’m not giving away too much, but Barbour is well-known for their jackets, so you’ll find that there’s a nice selection there,” he says. “They’ve really taken on board the suggestions that I like, and yeah, it’s very quintessentially Barbour — they’re using all of their heritage and their history. They look great, they feel great and hopefully people like them as well.”

Modeling easy-to-wear items is a nice break from the period attire he wears on the show, but he’s not complaining: He’s more than happy to stick with his kilt, especially when compared to his female co-stars’ garments. In particular, that show-stopping swan nipple dress.

“As beautiful as [the swan nipple dress] looks, I have no desire to [wear it],” Heughan tells PeopleStyle, laughing. “The women on the show have all of the corsets, the underwear and the underdressing they have to wear. It is really is a lot of material to be worn. So I feel very fortunate to be wearing kilts. They’re very easy to put on — and very easy to take off.”

In the upcoming season, which is based on Diana Gabaldon’s third book of the Outlander series, Voyager, Heughan and the rest of the cast embark on a new journey, which leads them to some new (and exotic!) locales.

“In this season, we span over 20 years — we go to Scotland, Jamaica and England and also end up in North Carolina, so it’s a real adventure,” he says, adding that they filmed a few scenes the crew didn’t even know about. “I was like, ‘Oh my God. What are you doing?’ So there’s going to be some surprises and really dramatic, epic scenes.”

But what’s not surprising? The show’s true star — Jamie’s long, luscious ginger curls, which won’t be going anywhere, anytime soon, says Heughan. (His trim waistline? Well, that may be a different story.)

“[Caitriona and my] hair is very much a part of the show,” he says. “It’s all about big hair. Claire’s hair is very unkempt. And same with Jamie. His hair is very much a part of who he is — the color and the look to him. It’s an honor playing this character for over three years now. It feels like a part of me. It’ll be a sad day when I’ll have to lose it [the hair].” Um, we second that.

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