Use of New Fabrics in Fashion and New Textile Printing Techniques

Fashion

History of Fashion

The history of fashion can be dated back to the development of the fashion industry in different time eras. Fashion was taken and applied in different forms depending on the situation of that era. It has been noted that clothing from the Roman and the Ancient Greek times is more dependent on the mere purpose of clothes rather than the style that was present. As it would be expected, in the olden times, clothes or fashion were merely a way of covering one's body. People did not think about the print, style or fabric when considering what they used to cover themselves. It has been seen that up till 400 A.D, clothing was never tight fitting nor was it loose or flowy. The basic idea was that drapes were used so that men and women could feel protected and secure. As it would be expected, the first materials that were used for making clothes arrived from either birds or animals. The Neanderthals for instance made use of animal pelts to keep warm. Similarly, they used leather by tanning it so it wouldn't become stiff in the cold. Wool was another sort of fabric that was used for clothes back in the Stone Age.

It has been seen that with different eras, the way of stitching clothes begin to change. The idea of changing fabrics and textiles was altered throughout the years. As it was stated earlier, flax was considered the oldest natural textile fiber present. The Egyptians are known to be the first group of people who went on to use cotton as a fiber in clothes. Along with cotton, silk is a very ancient form of fabric in the history of fashion. It has been rumored that the idea of wearing silk was initiated by the wife of the Chinese emperor who initiated it in the year 1725 BC. Therefore, the idea is that silk initially came from China when two monks went on to smuggle the seeds of the mulberry tree. It has also been stated that the Chinese were very particular about keeping silk inside the country. They tried to guard their secrets about making these fabrics for about 3000 years. The use of silk as a fabric moved from China to India and then it traveled to Japan and to the other countries all over the world.

Fashion can be divided into many different periods. These periods are termed Elizabethan, Victorian, Edwardian, Regency and so on. For instance, in the Elizabethan period, the ruffled sleeves were replaced with rather tight sleeves and they became more V shaped than before. In the Regency period, the idea of lightweight fabric was initiated. Women were more inclined towards wearing these lightweight fabrics in light colors. Usually, the waistline was defined by the use of a wide sash fixed at a bow in the back of the dress (Ventura, 1993) Wool was considered the most common and popular fabric for all the classes in the Renaissance period. Other fabrics that were made use of were hemp and linen (Koslin & Snyder, 2002) During that time, wool was available in different qualities and ranged from the rough sort to the fine dense and velvety wool. As it would be expected the price of these fabrics went onto increase as the quality increased.

Regardless of the way these clothes were stitched, it was noted that the use of linens and silk was confined to the rich class of the society. The middle and lower class were more inclined towards making use of simple clothing. It was near the 14th century that advances in tailoring and dyeing hastened the speed with which fashion spread through Europe. Therefore, it was observed that technological changes went on to equalize the perception of fashion in both the rich and the common people.

As it can be seen above, the use of clothing and drapery was altered and experimented with from time to time. It was seen that with the invention of steam-powered mechanized facilities in the industrial revolution, good quality textiles were available to a large group of people in very good prices. The first man made fiber was Rayon which was created by the American Viscose Company in 1910. After Rayon, fabrics like polyester, nylon, acetate and triacetate were also introduced. It has been seen that in the recent years, the use of synthetic fibers such as polyester and nylon have overridden the use of their natural counterparts (Felice) Nylon was first produced in the 1930s and it was incorporated into the production of clothes about ten years later. Spandex was introduced in the year 1959 and polypropylene was used

Polyester in Fashion

Ever since polyester was introduced it never developed a very positive rapport with those that were more particular and clothing and fashion. Later John Waters even used the word Polyester to describe a filthy state of being, in his movie titled "Polyester" released in 1981. Since then however a lot has changed regarding this particular fabric, ranging from the way in which it is produced and manufactured to the variety of uses that the material can be put to use to.

Essentially polyester is an artificial material constructed from polymers which are a kind of plastic. Polyester has several kinds; the one used for fabric is specifically the polyethylene terephthalate kind.

In the past it was polyesters' overly shiny look that made it show apparently as an unnatural material and due to the limited refinement procedures that were available, there wasn't much anyone could do about it. Today polyester can be altered to however the user desires, not only can aesthetic changes be made but the fabric can also be made more functional by making it waterproof, or breathable. Some companies manufacturing products for athletes are able to make use of antibacterial types of polyester which add an edge to their products or in some cases can be a separate product line on their own. There are so many things that can be done with polyester and the resulting fabric that it is overpowering most other fabrics in the market, due to its price. Polyester is beating the competition by being economical as it's a manufactured material, but it is also rivaling more expensive fabrics like silk, as is demonstrated by a Talbot Runhof dress that wore a price tag of nearly $10,000.

As well as the problem with the color and shine of polyester in the past, the texture of the material wasn't the most exquisite either. Modern day polyester producing firms create finer fibers of the material, which have an improved look and feel. According to designers polyester today has a better feel, and you also have to option of choosing a fabric made of the same material but with different textures. The color and texture greatly influence what a designer can do with the material, as it influences how the material behaves in different positions which again influences how it looks, completing the loop.

As there are more tools to use with polyester there are more possibilities available. One such interesting avenue that has been taken is by the Swiss brand Akris, and their 'technogrid' quilting technique. This method yields a pattern that is featured on their latest clutch collection as well as clothing.

PVC in Fashion

PVC was first used in fashion by Mary Quant in the year 1963. The basic reason that Quant was attracted toward this fabric was due it being shiny, waterproof and cheap. This fabric also became the hip thing because it gave a very space age type vibe. During that time it was seen that PVC only came in black and white. However, with more and more efforts, this material was made to be in other colors like terracotta, ginger, and mustard yellow. Quant called her new collection the wet collection and had these clothes shown in Paris. It seemed that these designers were photographed by Snowdon and they went on to win a lot of different awards. During that era, PVC did become the new thing and a lot of people were attracted to it (Jones, 2013)

Despite being very popular, there were some negative points too this fabric. For instance, it smelled like plastic and if the person sat too close to fire, it would literally start to melt. The trend and fashion of PVC began to fade out because leather started becoming cheap. It should be noted that people were still attracted to the shiny fabrics and therefore they opted for leather. Leather became cheap because new factories in China and India started producing leather as well. After that time, it was seen that PVC wear became associated with cheap and cheerful wear. It was resorted for fetish wear and the entire elegant and classy look from this material was eliminated. Due to this reason, the use of PVC really died down at that time.

Now PVC is becoming more and more common in things like shoes and bags. However, now it is seen that some designers like Gucci are daring to bring out PVC back into fashion again. Gucci showed PVC on the ramp in a rather seventies disco version. The Topshop unique went on to show a bright orange PVC midi skirt and black flared mini. H&M also introduced a cream midi lampshade skirt in their collection.

In the most recent years, PVC has also gained popularity in movies and music as well. In a lot of episodes of the American television series, the characters especially actress Erica Durance is known to be wearing PVC clothes. The Spice girls were especially famous for coming out in public wearing PVC outfits. PVC fashion has also been used in movies such as the Matrix. Furthermore, singers like Nicole Scherzinger, Jennifer Lopez, Mya and Britney Spears have also resorted to the use of PVC for making new fashion trends.

Use of Neoprene in Fashion

Neoprene is basically a family of synthetic rubbers that are made polymerization of chloroprene. This material is commonly used for things like orthopedic braces, laptop sleeves and electrical insulation. Just recently, this material is being utilized in fashion as well. This is quite different as opposed to the common use of cotton or silk in fashion. The first clothing items in which neoprene were used was for things like Halloween masks and masks that are used for face protection. However, now neoprene is being tried out by designers like Balenciaga, Gareth Pugh and Vera Wang.

It has been seen that neoprene is making news in the new runways as more and more designers are bringing this fabric out. Designers are more inclined towards It use because of the strong and defined lines in the material. Moving away from the rather sporty look, designers are aiming to coordinate this material with the use of velvet, wool and felt (Felton, 2013) Neoprene is being tried out in Phillip Lim's sweatshirts, J Brand's 801 Scuba jeans, and pleaded skirts by Alexander Wang. Reed Krakoff is especially making use of this material's flexibility by applying it in leather and neoprene ankle boots. Another famous designer who is just beginning to incorporate this material is Giorgio Armani. It was seen that Emporia Armani's Kajal collection showed a lot of exciting structures for both women and men in neoprene fabric. Furthermore, local style expert Erica Corsano hosted fashion show at the store's Copley Place location which on to highlight the rough cut neoprene mix and matched with velvet in amazing colors like ruby, aborigine and deep green skirts and dresses.

Neoprene is basically the answer to every surfer's prayer. This material makes it possible for those surfing crazy dudes to go out there and try out the cold waters. This is possible because this material is not only water resistant but it also form fitting and warm as well. Therefore, they are able to stay warm and still enjoy any sort of water that they want. The designers most comment that this new fabric has basically gone to give fashion a whole new image. They are quite fond of the fitting attained from this fabric. This holds especially true for all those who are crazy about getting the right feminine look.

Furthermore, this material also adds on to the sporty look therefore it goes on to create chances of more classier and sporty outfits for men. The end conclusion was this fabric is very warm and comfortable and can be styled into many different trends.

Fashion cultural studies

The fashion industry today is of a lot of importance as it is one of the major factors in driving the economy. Globalization has come out as a means of spreading material culture. It has been seen that fashion is a means of presenting one's self. People all over the world use fashion as a means of expressing themselves and the talent that they posses. Hemphill & Suk (2009) emphasized that fashion presentation is a way in which countries go on to make their own social identity. It has been noted that fashion not only goes on to make a specification of self and identity but it also goes on to promote material culture in a whole different way. People could also argue that a social identity of a country is only present due to its native clothes that go on to represent the culture of the countries. However, many of the fashion designers in the growing countries try to incorporate their native fashion into the current trends that are out there. As it was mentioned earlier in the paper, silk was used more in China. Therefore, today we see that the Chinese fashion industry goes onto make use of silk in many different ways. Today we see that a lot of fashion trends and fashion brands are only popular because of the globalization and immigration of different fashion trends. It has been noted where some trends were only made out of passion, others were made to rebel against the norms of the society. One famous example of the fashion designer Ralph Lauren is that when other people were very into motorcycle jackets, he was keen on trying out crew neck sweaters, white top sneakers and oxford shirts. Ralph Lauren made use of his skills and now is the owner of a multimillion empire. Originally belonging to Belarus, Ralph Lauren brought his talent and his ideas into America and made something creative out of them (Neuman, 2009)

Along with movies, fashion is also closely linked to music. Seeing what a creative industry fashion is, music is somewhat inseparable from fashion. The collaborative spirit of fashion and music can be detected in catwalk shows all over the world. Not one collection has gone by in which music accompaniment is not present in fashion shows. It appears that a good song does have the ability to transmit a designer's work in a very descriptive way. The Chanel presentation of Florence Welch that occurred last season went on to highlight that clothing is the main attraction. On the other hand, Dior Humme made use of projecting a new outfit and a new collection of music at the same time. It was noted that the later went on to receive more positive reviews only because of innovation was noted not only in fashion but in music as well. Another association that shows how closely music and fashion are linked is the presence of models who are singers as well. Today, it is noted that the transition from singer to model is not seen as something to be embarrassed about. It has been seen that both music and fashion go on to encourage and celebrate creativity and the expression of one's self. This transition is vice versa. This means that many singers do not hesitate from being the show stoppers in popular fashion shows. Similarly, models such as Kate moss and Carla Bruni all wish to appear as guest vocalists in different albums (Sagel) As mentioned before, the use of PVC also came back into fashion after singers like Britney Spears and Jennifer Lopez began wearing it.

Along with noting the link between the fashion and the music industry, it is important to see why fashion is so important in this industry. Here it is necessary to state that fashion trends are not only initiated by movies but they are also initiated by music as well. Just as the audience goes to view the fashion trends in movies, they keep a keen eye on what the music stars are wearing as well. For instance, the former Spice girl singer went on to start designing clothes herself. Her clothes were a hit and people went onto appreciate her work. People have always seen Victoria Bekham wearing designer clothes. Due to this reason, they knew that whatever she created would be worth the appreciation.