Title : Nylon: The Story of A Fashion Revolution
Author : Handley, Susannah
Publisher : John Hokins University Press
Pages : 192
Price : $ 29.95
ISBN : 0-8018-6325-2
For those who assume nylon's greatest contribution to the sartorial world to have been the introduction of synthetic stockings to eager North American female consumers in 1938, Nylon offers a far more elaborate account of the manmade fiber's relation to fashion, from ready-made to couture design.
Although this colorfully illustrated book is based in part on the DuPont archives, Handley avoids attributing the development of synthetic fibers to any particular manufacturer. Rather, she reveals the complex process by which an array of manmade fabrics was devised and incorporated into existing traditions or used to challenge tradition.
Handley traces the origins of the first manmade fiber, ‘artificial silk’ (in 1885) through the popularization of nylon-derived fabrics in postwar fashions, to the ‘smart’ fabrics and wearable technologies in contemporary designer collections. She refers to the constant mediation between manufacturers, designers, and consumers in Britain and the United States.
The Courtauld's Textile Company, for example, built its initial commercial success on providing fabrics such as black crepe that were in keeping with the nineteenth-century rituals and fashions generated around death. While initially imitative of traditional fabrics, synthetic materials eventually became an integral part of a cultural revolution.
Review Courtesy: http://muse.jhu.edu
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