“Unbeknownst to most, science and fashion have long been intertwined.”
That’s the theme behind a recent exhibit at the museum of Kent State Univerisity. Entitled ” The Right Chemistry: Colors in Fashion, 1704-1918,” it’s a fascinating look at how the science of dye chemistry has influenced fasion over the ages.
Think about it – how has the history of fashion been changed by the invention of reds, blues, greens and all the other incredible colors of the fashion rainbow? To quote Anne Bissonnett, Curator of the exhibit:
In the days of slavery, clothing of undyed and unbleached osnaburg fabric served to strip a person of their individuality. The somber yet saturated palette of blues and purples of Amish clothing is part of their culture and beliefs just as the tricolor scheme of revolutionary France.
And where do all those colors come from any way? Another quote:
Traditionally, dyes were extracted from living organisms such as insects or plants. Until the mid-nineteenth century, red dyes were extracted from insects such as cochineal and kermes or from such plants as madder and brazilwood. Prices varied depending on their solidity (colorfastness), depth and origin. Kermes was indigenous to Europe and was highly prized but, by the late Middle Ages, imported cochineal began to take precedence as the most sought after dye. Combined with a tin salt, cochineal produced a spectacular red on wool and silk but gave poor results on linen and cotton. Its appropriateness for luxury fabrics made it so that in early fifteenth-century Florence, cochineal was twice as expensive as kermes. As a result scarlet, a particularly fine woolen cloth of unspecified color, tended to attract the most valuable dyes and became a color term for red. Highly valued, it was reserved for the fashionable elite and often adorned the traditionally blue-clad Virgin in Renaissance paintings.
Our favorite fashion factoid: Red dye originally came from crushed insect bodies! Mmmm.
So, if you’re interested in learning how science and fashion intersect we urge you to check out the exhibit. And send us an email if you have any beauty questions.
Loading ...
