(FASHION). (TEXTILES - NYLON). West Cumberland Silk Mills. [Unique portfolio of fashion photos and news articles commemorating an exhibition of nylon fabrics].

An Overlooked Milestone in Fashion History

(FASHION). (TEXTILES - NYLON). West Cumberland Silk Mills. [Unique portfolio of fashion photos and news articles commemorating an exhibition of nylon fabrics]. (Whitehaven, England: 1951) [22] leaves. (322 x 275 mm.)  Original textured blue and black paper scrapbook with rivets, upper cover with blue leather label stamped in gilt. With 28 black and white glossy photographs tipped on, plus tipped-on newspaper articles, magazine ads, and an invitation to the exhibition. Corners and edges rubbed, a few tears and scratches to binding; light rubbing to contents, a few of the photographs wavy due to the glue, but clean and in very good or better condition overall.

A commemorative portfolio of an exhibition showcasing the high-fashion potential of nylon, the "miracle fabric," with photographs of designer dresses, articles, advertisements, and an original invitation to the event.

Made entirely from synthetic fibers, nylon was invented by chemist Wallace Carothers for the chemical giant DuPont, making its public debut at the 1939 New York World's Fair. The highly durable and elastic "miracle fabric" was initially targeted toward women (nylon stockings debuted in the US in 1940), but it was soon redirected toward the war effort, where it was made into rope, parachutes, jackets, and other critical materials. By the 1950s, when the present scrapbook was assembled, wartime restrictions had lifted and nylon was being adopted for use at all levels of the fashion industry.

Founded in 1938 by two Jewish-Hungarian immigrants, the West Cumberland Silk Mills (later Sekers Fabrics) worked extensively with nylon during the Second World War. Realizing the fabric's massive, untapped potential for the fashion world, the company staged the present exhibition during the Festival of Britain in 1951, a nationwide effort to showcase the country's postwar recovery. The firm invited fashion houses such as Lanvin, Digby Morton, and Jacques Griffe to use their proprietary nylon blends to demonstrate the material's unique properties. By pairing nylon with haute couture names and tailoring, this exhibition effectively shattered the notion that it was a cheap, utilitarian fabric. Following the exhibition, Miki Sekers (one of the co-founders of the Mill) became a close collaborator with Christian Dior, supplying high-end synthetic and blended fabrics for Dior's ready-to-wear lines for the rest of the decade. (1071)