7.14.2008

Paper Clothing

Today it's all about paper clothing! Not today as in The World, today as in Meagan's July 14th blog entry! I did a little research on paper dresses to hopefully provide some more perspective on this art form and all I kept finding was info on the whole "paper dress fad" of the 60's. After more research I found a few amazing artist's who use paper to create clothing. Beautiful clothing!
But first a little history:


In 1966, Scott Paper Co. introduced disposable clothing as a promotion gimmick with a sleeveless shift selling for $1.00. Scott sold 500,000 dresses in eight months, and the strong response had other manufacturers and designers joining the paper chase.

By 1967, Mars Manufacturing Company of Asheville was the nation's leading producer of paper dresses, selling 80,000 to 100,000 a week. From its basic A-line shift, the company expanded its line to include bell-bottom jump suits, evening gowns, aprons, men's vests, children's dresses and even swimming trunks. The rage for paper lasted a short time and by 1974 it was already passé. (source)

1960s "The Souper Dress" Andy Warhol Campbell's Soup Paper Dress



This is the 1960's Campbell's Soup dress that was inspired by the work of Andy Warhol. These were produced by Campbell's Soup as an effective advertising campaign when paper dresses were all the rage in the 60s. A classic example where fashion, art and industry intersect into one image. This A-line dress is printed with the Campbell's Soup red, black and white labels. At the back of the neckline is the original attached label that reads: "The Souper Dress/No Cleaning/ No Washing/ It's carefree fire resistant unless washed or cleaned/To refreshen, press lightly with warm iron/80% Cellulose, 20% Cotton". (source)



Elisabeth LeCourt



Here's elisabeth lecourt according to elisabeth lecourt:



SO this entry was originally inspired by the work of ELisabeth LeCourt. I don't know much about her, but I love what she creates! She's been making the blog rounds lately, but I wanted to post her work anyways to make sure that EVERYONE gets the chance to see her neat paper dresses.




Jennifer Collier


I eventually stumbled upon other artists that use paper to create articles of clothing. One of them being Jennifer Collier of the UK. She creates paper shoes, dresses, ties and bow ties, which stand alone or framed as pieces or non-wearable art.



Annette Meyer


Another artist I found is Annette Meyer of Denmark. She creates all types of paper clothing, including a paper wedding dress! Completely wearable, customizable and beautiful! More information available by clicking here.

Neda Niaraki



"I've created a fashion line [Fast Food Clothing], made from recyclable Tyvek that challenges popular culture's addiction to fashion and urges consumers to rethink their fashion over-consumption. The clothes are made out of soft structure Tyvek. My garments can be worn up to 12 times before deteriorating. Tyvek can be recycled up to 4-5 times before physical properties are substantially affected."

More information available at Neda's website!

So, if after all of this you feel like cutting up your phone book and wearing it... you can use this paper dress pattern from Dick Blick!

4 comments:

Michelle Suzanne said...

oh my gosh i had no idea that paper dresses were such a big deal, but i have always thought they were cool. i had a girl make me a dress out of bubble wrap once, it was amazing. my friends band, agent ribbons, performed a show in dresses made of newspaper once. i wasnt at the show, but here is a terrible photo.
http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=76882942&albumID=803780&imageID=2524327
ooh look i found this too
http://cgi.ebay.com/Custom-Made-Newspaper-Dress_W0QQitemZ150268691220QQcmdZViewItem?IMSfp=TL08070914106r7679

Meagan Whiteley said...

Neat! Im so mad cause was searching this topic for like a week and I found amazing dresses that are actually wearable and washable, made of tyvek "paper" the stuff they use for house siding? They had AMAZING designs on them, but I lost the link and can't find them! argh!

Anonymous said...

I stumbled across your blog and wanted to give you a little more background, as my Master's thesis was on the History of Paper Clothing. Prior to the 1960's fad, paper was also used during the 18th and 19th century for accessories and clothing.

The new pieces you posted are beautiful! thanks for sharing.

Jennifer Kibel
Verde King of
Verde Studio

Anonymous said...

Veda, designing with Tyvek is extremely exciting. There must be hundreds of recycleable resources to explore in our daily lives. There should be a contest for this! I removed a plastic bag from a dry cleaned article and it was the most delicious color of pink. I draped it around my neck, shoulders, waist, even cut a glob and attempted a flower on my shoe. A good designer could do something wonderful with this resource and I'm sure there is much more in our daily lives to be explored. Design from recycling is coming from the right place and at the right time.
Betty Laehr.