Not currently on display at the V&A

Dress Fabric

1946 (designed)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This print was designed by Julian Trevelyan (1910-88) for Ascher Limited of London in 1946. Trevelyan was a painter, and was strongly associated with Surrealism in Britain, with his work often having a childlike quality. Zika Ascher commissioned designs by artists such as Trevelyan after feeling frustrated by the somewhat dull textiles produced during the Second World War. Along with Alastair Morton of Edinburgh Weavers, Ascher began the practice of working with artists in 1944 to produce innovative textile designs. Ascher fabrics were printed in their workshop in London by screen, and occasionally block printing, initially on rayon but later on silk and cotton. Dress fabrics from Ascher were very popular with French, British and Italian couturiers in the 1940s, including Christian Dior and Elsa Schiaperelli.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Screen-printed rayon
Brief description
Dress fabric of screen-printed spun rayon, designed by Julian Trevelyan for Ascher Ltd., London, 1946
Physical description
Dress fabric of screen-printed spun rayon.
Dimensions
  • Length: 25in
  • Width: 18in
Production typeMass produced
Credit line
Given by the manufacturer
Production
Reason For Production: Retail
Summary
This print was designed by Julian Trevelyan (1910-88) for Ascher Limited of London in 1946. Trevelyan was a painter, and was strongly associated with Surrealism in Britain, with his work often having a childlike quality. Zika Ascher commissioned designs by artists such as Trevelyan after feeling frustrated by the somewhat dull textiles produced during the Second World War. Along with Alastair Morton of Edinburgh Weavers, Ascher began the practice of working with artists in 1944 to produce innovative textile designs. Ascher fabrics were printed in their workshop in London by screen, and occasionally block printing, initially on rayon but later on silk and cotton. Dress fabrics from Ascher were very popular with French, British and Italian couturiers in the 1940s, including Christian Dior and Elsa Schiaperelli.
Bibliographic reference
Illlustrated in Christine Bodyell, Horrockses' Fashions: Off-the-Peg Style in the '40s and '50s (London: V&A Publishing, 2010), p. 93, pl. 2.46.
Collection
Accession number
CIRC.95B-1947

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Record createdMarch 31, 2005
Record URL
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