Costume textiles

During the first half of the 20^th century, French weaving extended the mechanization begun during the preceding century: the adoption of improved looms, later powered, was slow, for eco­nomic reasons. In 1848 France had only 328,000 automatic looms, as against 675,000 in England, but the variety of French costume materials was endless, corresponding to the increased individualism of women clients. The quality and production of cotton and wool also improved, more than twice as much cotton being used in 1848 than twenty years previously.

The manufacture of all sorts of fancy textiles, brocades, vel­vets, tulles, silks, etc., expanded considerably and gave costume an extraordinary variety of decoration, particularly in silks.

Under the Restoration and the July Monarchy, fashion had favoured silks brocaded with bouquets and woven edgings, flowered muslins, satins, striped, checked and printed stuffs.

However, it was principally after 1850, as a result of the Emperor and Empress ‘efforts to foster luxury in costume and make Paris the international centre of elegance, that the textile industry embarked on its period of great activity.

The old fashion for Italian silks and English lace was follow­ed by a vogue for woollens from Normandy, lace from the North of France and Lyons silks. All French industries lived on fashion, from jewellers to boot makers and feather-mer­chants. Lyons silks, among other products, were favoured by court luxury and the rise of couture, while abroad they spread profitably through the English market, which had been opened as a result of Cobden's free-trade doctrine. After the American Civil War the United States in their turn became important customers of Lyons, where towards 1860 the number of looms had reached almost 10,000, mainly grouped in the picturesque workshops of La Croix-Rousse, Saint-Georges or Saint Irenee. These workshops produced Jacquard-woven French silks, but also plain materials for the Paris couture houses. The Empress’ marked preference for plain gowns caused all women to wear shiny rustling taffetas which showed off slim waists and were perfectly suited to balloon skirts. Alternatives were heavier faille, glazed silk poults or heavy satins or classic velvets. New fabrics were invented almost daily as the result of continual experiment. Mixed weaves provided a wide repertory with constantly changing names.

The organization of couture in Paris had considerable reper­cussions on the textile industries. All the creative activity of fashion was centred on the capital, where it regulated the suc­cession of styles without regard for the production require­ments of the various textile centres, Lyons in particular. The progress by fits and starts which had affected dress materials since the middle of the nineteenth century was, however, balanced by the uninterrupted growth of couture and the con­siderable extension of the foreign market.

We must recognize the personal contribution of Worth: his taste for soft, flowing lines requiring large quantities of cloth had much to do with the development of French industry under Napoleon III.

The chemical industry played its part with new, important improvements in dyestuffs. Artificial indigo had been prepared by Guimet in 1826, synthetic indigo in 1876, and in Lyons, Verguin had discovered fuchsine in 1856. The poor lasting-quality of some of these dyes caused a more rapid renewal of garments and helped persuade the public to dress “à la mode”.

The most typical features of the development of costume in Europe from 1850 to 1868 are the appearance of couture, techni­cal improvements, economic expansion and the preponderance of French fashions. These features were linked to a common factor, which in turn corresponds to a general characteristic of society: it was the ever-increasing rapidity of change.