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 | Dress fabric sample of woven mohair, wool and nylon mix, made by Ascher Ltd., Great Britain, 1957 |
| Physical description | Dress fabric sample of woven mohair, wool and nylon mix. The ground is green, the check of a similar form to a tartan sett, is black. Each side is virtually identical. The fabric is soft, not particularly hairy, firm but flexible to handle. The plain weave structure is quite dense. It is very lightweight. |
| Dimensions |
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| Production type | Mass produced |
| Marks and inscriptions |
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| Credit line | Given by Zika Ascher |
| 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, pp. 112-6.
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | T.196-1988 |
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| Record created | April 20, 2007 |
| Record URL |
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