Visibly Invisible: The Enigmatic History of Technology in the Fashion-Industrial Complex

Fashion studies and fashion history have long focused on the meaning of dress and the aesthetic appreciation of textile artifacts without due consideration of the supply chain of the fashion-industrial complex. This chapter examines the important, but little-understood, role of the chemical, fiber, and textile industries in fashion. It presents a series of case studies that explore interactions among chemical manufacturers, textile makers, color designers, trend forecasters, fiber marketers, and fashion producers over the course of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The discussion focuses on the creation of new materials for textile manufacturing and the dissemination of knowledge about those materials to producers and consumers through fashion intermediaries. Topics include the first synthetic dyes, shade cards for color forecasting, man-made fibers, and synthetic fibers. The historical actors include inventors, entrepreneurs, trend forecasters, marketing professionals, and product designers, among others. The chapter will help fashion researchers to develop a deeper understanding of the production process in the fashion-industrial complex, highlighting the visibly invisible role of the chemical, fiber, forecasting, and textile trades in the fashion business.