Sarah Campbell and Susan Collier

The Collier-Campbell Archive

Last week I spoke to the talents of fashion designer Oscar de la Renta.  We are familiar with those who create “the look” but often we forget that there is another group of designers vital to the creation of fabric, be it for clothing, home furnishings or accessories, even industrial applications.  These are the designers that create the fabric patterning.

Today computerization has taken many tasks that were previously laboriously performed in the textile industry.  While design studios rely heavily upon computer programs, there is, or should always be space for designers to paint, sketch and imprint their artist’s hand in the design. 

 I recently purchased an amazing reference, The Collier- Campbell Archive.  This beautiful volume tells the story of two sisters, Sarah Campbell and Susan Collier and their 50 year career in fabric design.

Collier Campbell Archive: 50 Years of Passion and Pattern, Emma Shackleton,ILEX Press LTD, 2012 

Their career began designing for collections for Liberty, David Hayward and Jack Prince, and became design and color consultants for other design studios.  In the late 1970’s the sisters founded Collier and Campbell in order to control their design rights and the quality of the fabric and printing.

Their story is told in three parts:  The Collier-Campbell Story (their history), The Creative Process (their methods and themes) and The Gallery (their designs and patterns).

The color plates throughout are stunning and offer inspiration for any student of design, artist or textile lover.

 If you get the opportunity to peruse this collection you will understand my enthusiasm.

Designer to the Stars

A Tribute to Oscar de la Renta

This week there have been many tributes to couturier Oscar de la Renta, who died Oct.20, at the age of 82,  and I would be remiss if I didn’t join the accolades.

There have been many fashion designers who have established their place in fashion history: Fortuny, Dior, Channel, Schiparelli.  One must include in this pantheon  Oscar de la Renta. 

Born July, 22, 1932 in Santa Domingo, Dominican Republic, Oscar de la Renta began his career in Spain where he studied painting.  For added income, he drew sketches of fashion clothing for newspapers and magazines and after one of his sketches was featured on the cover of Life magazine, he turned to design, apprenticing with the famous House of Balenciaga.  He then worked for design houses in Europe and New York.

He was the winner  of many awards, including the coveted Coty Award and was inducted into the Coty Hall of Fame in 1973.

While he was best known as “designer to the rich and famous” creating fabulous gowns for such clients as Jackie O and wives of American presidents ( his last creation was worn as a wedding dress by Amal Alamuddin) he also designed clothing appropriate for a business meeting or luncheon date.  He diversified his business into fragrance (”Oscar”), and a line of accessories and housewares.  His moderately priced ready-to-wear clothing is available at his retail stores and other retail outlets such as Neiman Marcus and online.

He once said “ fashion is a trend, style is within a person”.  That is the genius of the great designers, that their creations are timeless and wearing their designs make their clients feel confident and beautiful inside and out.

This week is also Halloween.  “Listen to them- the children of the night.  What music they make.”  Dracula, by Bram Stoker, 1897 

ATHA - Association of Traditional Hooking Artists

Rugger’s Companion

I recently picked up a back issue of the Rugger’s Companion, the bimonthly newsletter/magazine of ATHA, Association of Traditional Hooking Artists.

I had not known of this organization and an internet search produced the following facts:

        Their membership includes over 4, 000 fiber artists worldwide organized into 17 regions.

        In North America, there are 78 active chapters.

Their very professional news magazine held a wealth of information for rug hooking enthusiasts.  Dozens of articles and photographs of finished project submitted by the membership inspired me to finish a couple of hooking projects I have started. 

Advertisers feature hooking supplies of every description as well as instructional books and magazines.

I have always thought membership in an organization or guild which represents your hobby and interests to be very advantageous.  For a nominal membership fee, there are  many benefits, including working with artists with the same interests

(a great learning experience).  There is usually the opportunity to attend workshops and conferences and new products are offered in their publications.

ATHA is sponsoring a biennial symposium in 2015 in San Antonio, Texas.  For all information concerning this seminar and membership please contact www.atharugs.com

Mystery Fiber

Mystery Fiber?

I received an advertisement from a catalog featuring towels made from bamboo-rayon and cotton fibers.  The person sending me the ad was confused about the so-called bamboo-rayon and questioned how bamboo plant fibers could be used to create synthetics.  Well,  the answer to that query is a simple one.  Rayon is not a synthetic fiber, although many assume that it is.  Like its cousin Acetate, Rayon is manufactured from cellulose.  So allow me to tell you a short history of Rayon.

Rayon, known as  “artificial silk”, was first produce over 120 years ago, the first patent was granted to a Swiss chemist who dissolved the inner bark of mulberry trees, chemically modifying it and formed threads by dipping needles into the solution.  The first commercial production of rayon is credited to Count Hilaire Chardonnet, a French chemist who demonstrated  his fabrics at the Paris Exhibition.  The first commercial plant to produce rayon was built 2 years later.  Chardonnet discovered that nitrocellulose could be dissolved in a mixture of ether and alcohol and the solutions could then be extruded into an acid bath to form a continuous filament. Rayon is a regenerated textile fiber, there is no chemical change in the cellulose and has the same characteristics as cellulose.

 In the US the first successful production of Rayon was made by the American Vicose Company in 1910.

Since cotton linters and wood chips of pine, spruce and hemlock have been the source of the cellulose used for Rayon, it is not surprising that fibers of bamboo would produce a profitable ( and sustainable) source of cellulose for Rayon, as well.

Rayon is highly absorbent, soft and comfortable with good drapability.  It is also easy to dye.  Rayon is often used with other fibers, such as cotton, in textile production.

Acetate, Rayon’s cousin is also a regenerated fiber, first processed in 1894.  Acetate, however, is a different chemical compound from the original cellulose.  It is created by adding acetic acid to the cellulose, creating cellulose acetate. The solution is forced through a spinneret into warm air which hardens the filaments by evaporation.

In case you were wondering, Nylon was the first synthetic textile fiber, produced by the laboratories of DuPont in 1931.

Corde du Roi

The Cord of Kings- Corduroy


Fall has finally come, the leaves are golden and the nights are cool.  One joy of living in a climate with all four seasons is having a diverse wardrobe. There is pleasure, at least for me, in bringing into my closet clothes for the upcoming season. In the spring, there are lightweight cottons in colorful patterns and flip-flops.  For fall and winter, there are comfortable, warm sweaters and leggings, jackets and boots.

According to one of my favorite fashion sources, The Wall Street Journal Style and Fashion section “Across the retail spectrum, at nearly every price-point, designers have embraced the traditional cotton fabric [corduroy] in a fervor not seen since the Carter administration.” (Christopher, Tennant, WSJ, Sept 13-14, 2014, pg 52)

The term “corduroy” comes from the French “Corde du Roi” or cord of the king.  It is a cut pile, machine made fabric where stripes of pile (wales) alternate with stripes of ground cloth (welts).  The wale stripes may be produced in various widths.  The most narrow wale is referred to as pinwale.  The weft pile is non-structural  supplementary weft, the floats are subsequently cut and brushed to produce the soft , textural fabric.

Corduroy is usually made of cotton or a blend of cotton and man-made fibers, which is very durable and takes dye well. 

 Large wale

Narrow wale or pinwale

A Visit to The Fowler Museum of UCLA

Textile Society of America – The Fowler Museum

One of the benefits of a TSA Symposium includes visits to area galleries and museums.  Attendees were invited to the Fowler Museum of UCLA for 3 sessions featured in the current exhibitions with a cocktail reception following the lectures.

Events such as these give symposium attendees the opportunity to relax and enjoy food and drinks in a lovely setting and interact with textile enthusiasts from all over the world.

The Fowler Museum was established in 1963 as the Museum and Laboratories of Ethnic Arts and Technology.  In 1971 the name of the institution was changed to Museum of Cultural History.  A further name change came in 1992 (Fowler Museum of Cultural History) and in 2006 it finally became The Fowler Museum of UCLA and is ranked among the top 4 university museums in the US.

Since its inception, the Fowler has placed emphasis on works from Aftrica, Asia, the Pacific and Americas.

Admission to the museum is free.  For further information on the museum and current exhibitions contact www.fmch.ucla.edu

The Textile Society of America - 14th Biennial Symposium

Destination Los Angeles

I have just returned from Los Angeles having attended 5 days of the 14^th symposium of the Textile Society of America.

The Textile Society was established in 1987 to provide “an international forum for the exchange and dissemination of textile knowledge from artistic, cultural, economic, historic, political, social and technical perspectives”. With over 700 members from countries all over the world, the society includes museum curators and conservators, textile designers and makers, historians and anyone interested in textiles. 

The biennial symposium features juried papers, day and weeklong programs and an opportunity to confer with other members and share knowledge and experiences.

This years proceedings were held in Los Angeles at the campus of UCLA and included many lectures, museum and collection visits and additional pre and post-symposium programs.  The theme for this year was New Directions: Examining the Past , Creating the Future and featured lectures ranging from pre-historic fibers to sustainability of resources in future textile production.

UCLA campus, what a glorious venue for a conference

In the next few weeks I will be discussing museum visits, exhibitions of contemporary textiles and lecture subjects.

For more information about the Textile Society of America, its membership benefits and programs, please visit www.textilesociety.org