Dress Fabric
1957 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Zika Ascher, an innovative textile converter, based himself in London after the annexation of his home country Czechoslovakia in 1939. After the Second World War, Ascher Ltd designed different ranges of textiles for use at the top end of the fashion market, both in couture and high-class ready-to-wear garments. Ascher kept used samples such as this one to show prospective clients his wares, and as a record of his output.
He turned his attention to developing mixes incorporating mohair in 1956, seeking out manufacturers with a pedigree for excellence. In the case of woollens, he approached Scottish mills with his new ideas. In collaboration they created a range of dress and coat-weight mohairs. Like wool, mohair was warm and took colour well, but it had the advantage of being much lighter weight (a quality appreciated especially in the USA). Some were blended with nylon. In 1957, haute couture promoted bulky look outerwear — mohair was the perfect vehicle for this effect.
He turned his attention to developing mixes incorporating mohair in 1956, seeking out manufacturers with a pedigree for excellence. In the case of woollens, he approached Scottish mills with his new ideas. In collaboration they created a range of dress and coat-weight mohairs. Like wool, mohair was warm and took colour well, but it had the advantage of being much lighter weight (a quality appreciated especially in the USA). Some were blended with nylon. In 1957, haute couture promoted bulky look outerwear — mohair was the perfect vehicle for this effect.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Plain woven mohair, wool and nylon |
| Brief description | Two-colour dress fabric sample of woven mohair, wool and nylon, made by Zika Ascher for Ascher Ltd., Great Britain, 1957 |
| Physical description | Two-colour dress fabric sample of woven mohair, wool and nylon. Lightweight but quite densely woven, it has a firm but flexible handle, and a hairy surface. The two colours are woven in a plain weave to create the effect of a 'soft-edged' check or splodge. The front of the textile being the inverse of the back in terms of the dominant colour in the pattern. Off-white/grey and black check; one selvedge allows the direction of warp and weft to be ascertained. The sample is not a perfect rectangle because it has been pulled out of shape, and a small rectangle had been cut from the side opposite the selvedge. |
| Dimensions |
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| Production type | Mass produced |
| Marks and inscriptions |
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| Credit line | Given by the maker |
| Object history | One of two samples with T.195-1988. |
| Production | Probably developed by Ascher in conjunction with Scottish Borders textile mills (see Mendes) Attribution note: for a fairly exclusive high end ready-to-wear and couture market |
| Summary | Zika Ascher, an innovative textile converter, based himself in London after the annexation of his home country Czechoslovakia in 1939. After the Second World War, Ascher Ltd designed different ranges of textiles for use at the top end of the fashion market, both in couture and high-class ready-to-wear garments. Ascher kept used samples such as this one to show prospective clients his wares, and as a record of his output. He turned his attention to developing mixes incorporating mohair in 1956, seeking out manufacturers with a pedigree for excellence. In the case of woollens, he approached Scottish mills with his new ideas. In collaboration they created a range of dress and coat-weight mohairs. Like wool, mohair was warm and took colour well, but it had the advantage of being much lighter weight (a quality appreciated especially in the USA). Some were blended with nylon. In 1957, haute couture promoted bulky look outerwear — mohair was the perfect vehicle for this effect. |
| Bibliographic reference | Mendes, Valerie. Ascher. Fabric, Art, Fashion. London: V&A Publications, 1987, p. 174.
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | T.195A-1988 |
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| Record created | March 25, 2011 |
| Record URL |
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