Publications | Down Survey | 2002 Issue Contents

A Good Yarn: A brief look at the use of synthetic fibres in fashion
Madeleine McAllister

As part of its major temporary exhibition in 2002, Down County Museum was able to display several items from its costume collection, showing the range of clothing worn by women from the 1950s to the millennium. These clothes were worn at a time when fashions changed with increasing rapidity, and new and innovative synthetic materials were being introduced. Many of the garmen
ts in the museum's collection show how the new fibres were used by the fashion
industry.

Fig 1: (top) Two polyester tops DCM 2001-350 and 351, 1970's. The bright colours are very characteristic. (bottom) pair of nylons DCM 2001-70 and a petticoat DCM 2001-230, 1950's

Fig 2: Black, blue and dark red check dress DCM 2003-54, 1985 abd red and cream print dress DCM 2003-40, 1990's Versatile viscose has been used to give the appearance of wool crepe (left) or cotton lawn (right)

From the earliest times fibres from the natural world, such as wool, cotton, silk and linen had been used to make clothes and other textiles. However, with the development of synthetic polymers in the latter half of the twentieth century new fibres and materials were introduced to the world of clothes and fashion.

During the economic boom of the Fifties and Sixties massive funds were poured into the research, development and production of synthetic materials for a wide range of uses, including the textile industry. The same boom produced a market of comparatively wealthy young people, hungry for cheap, fashionable and easily maintained clothes. The new synthetic fibres were often used as cheap replacements for the more expensive natural fibres, though with varying degrees of success. Many of the textiles and fibres described below were made and processed in Northern Ireland, in an industry which employed thousands of people.

Fig 3: Sweater in acrylic yarn DCM 2001-259, 1950's. This example has a trim of gold metallic yarn.

Nylon was the first truly synthetic fibre, and was first produced commercially in the USA in 1939. Although nylon stockings were available in the LTK during World War Two, production of nylon for clothing did not really start until after the war. Designers soon realised that its low cost and easy laundering properties made it an excellent replacement for silk, and nylon was soon being used for petticoats and other underwear as well as stockings. It had the added advantage of being able to be dyed cheaply with fast, bright colours (Fig 1, bottom). Sadly nylon was not quite the miracle fibre that it was hoped it would be. 'Dripdry' nylon shirts were produced, which could be washed, put on a hanger, allowed to drip dry and worn again without ironing. Unfortunately, the property of nylon that allowed it to be 'drip-dry' also prevented perspiration from being carried away from the body of the wearer and resulted in a very uncomfortable 'body-feel', particularly in hot weather! Despite this, nylon has become one of the most important synthetic fibres in use today.

Polyester has been produced in the UK since 1955, and is familiar to us as 'Terylene', 'Crimplene' and in combination with other fibres such as cotton. Polyester has the advantage of being able to be produced as a smooth, worsted type yarn or as a bulkier, softer yarn. It is very hard wearing, and can be dyed and printed in extremely bright, fast colours; in fact a new type of dye had to be developed for the dyeing of polyester (Fig I, top). As 'Terylene', polyester soon became a cheaper and hard wearing alternative to worsted wool yarn and was used, for example, in men's and women's suiting. Like other synthetic yarns, polyester had the disadvantage of a cold, almost unpleasant 'handle', and to counteract this manufacturers produced 'Crimplene', where the fibre was 'bulked up' as part of the manufacturing process. The easy wash and wear characteristics of 'Crimplene' made it very popular, particularly for children's wear, for many years, but the problems of handle were never really solved, and 'Crimplene' has declined in popularity. The cheap and hard wearing properties of polyester have been exploited by combining it with other less robust and more expensive fibres such as cotton, linen and wool.

Acrylic yarn is produced under several names, 'Acrilan' and 'Orlon' are well known. Acrylic yarn was intended as a synthetic replacement for wool, and like other synthetic yarns combined durability with low cost. Several attempts were made to overcome the problem of poor 'handle', among these being the 'Atoz' system developed in the 1970s by McCleery and L' aime Yarns of Saintfield, for which the company was awarded the Queen's Award for Industry. As with other synthetics, acrylic yarn is now frequently combined with other fibres.

As a fibre, viscose is rather hard to classify, as it is produced like a polymer, or synthetic fibre, from cellulose, a natural material derived from wood. This hybrid nature gives it a few advantages over both natural and synthetic fibres. It is cheap to produce and has a pleasant handle. It is easy to care for and hard wearing. However, its chief advantage is that it can be produced with different yarn finishes to imitate, for example, the fine, smooth qualities of silk or the bulkier, softer feel of fine wool crepe. It is often used in combination with other fibres.

Fig 4:Skirt DCM 2003-44, top DCM 2003-45 and aerobics suit DCM 2003-39/1, all 1990s. The use of Lycra has expanded from sports wear to all types of clothing

Rather as nylon burst on the fashion world in the Fifties and Sixties, spandex revolutionised fashion in the Eighties and Nineties. Elastomers or elastic polymers had been in use for many years, and were used chiefly in elastic trimmings and in stretch underwear and swimwear. However, a combination of factors occurring in the mid-Eighties made spandex, known as 'Lycra', a huge success. One of these factors was a surge of interest in exercise and physical fitness, exemplified by the thousands who took up aerobics, jogging and so on. The fashion industry soon realised that many of those taking part were young women who would want comfortable, fashionable clothes to wear, which were as unlike school sports uniform as possible! At the same time, dress rules, which had been becoming more and more relaxed since the war, made it possible for these bright, comfortable sports clothes to be used as casual everyday wear. Another factor was that manufacturing technology made possible the production of an elastomer (Lycra) which was durable and easy to combine with other fabrics. The stage was then set for an explosion in the use of 'Lycra' in almost all types of clothing, from baby clothes to men's formal suits (Fig 4). It is interesting to note that this fortuitous combination has almost achieved that Holy Grail of the fashion industry, the non-wrinkle suit.

Fig 5: PVC coat DCM 1994-385, 1960s. The snakeskin effect has been achieved by printing and texturising the fabric

The use of synthetics in fashion has not been confined to fibres, other materials are often used. Various methods of waterproofing fabric have been used over the centuries, including wax, oil and rubber. These had the drawbacks of being smelly, dirty and not very durable. PVC was developed in 1930, and in its flexible form enabled fabric to be covered with a waterproof layer which was cheap, clean and long lasting. To the joy of the fashion industry it could also be brightly coloured, printed with a pattern, texturised to give a shiny surface or a raised pattern, or even used without a fabric backing to give a completely see-through garment! This fitted in well with the 'space-age' trend of the Sixties, and fashion designers used this exciting material to produce coats, dresses, boots and shoes, the more daring of which were transparent. In common with other synthetics, PVC was used to imitate a natural material, often leather or other animal skin (Fig S). Like other synthetics, PVC had its teething problems; there were reports of PVC coats cracking as the material stiffened at low temperatures, and they certainly became very stiff and uncomfortable in cold weather.

When synthetic fibres were first produced it was widely thought that they would eventually supplant 'old-fashioned' natural fibres. However time and experience has shown that both natural and synthetic fibres have their advantages, and are often at their best when used in combination.

Madeleine McAllister is Assistant Keeper of Collections at Down County Museum.