Ariadne Heirlooms

08/19/2024

Shoes Details of Perseus, 1804-1806, by Italian sculptor Antonio Canova (1757-1822)

08/15/2024

Leafy antique wall hangings are having a resurgence in the design world, showing up in even the most modern rooms.

07/25/2024

Some younger people have become obsessed with learning old-fashioned hand crafts like leather-making, millinery and lacework.

06/10/2024

“a health-care company focused on feet”

An outsider transformed a 250-year-old German shoe company with “Succession”-level family drama into a haute footwear behemoth.

03/05/2024

01/28/2023

Knitting has its own practical magic.

11/26/2022

A 3300 year old wool trousers found in vast Yanghai cemetery near Turfan in China.

SOURCE: C: M. Wagner et al/Archaeological Research in Asia 2022

Credit:

09/05/2022

08/12/2022

06/26/2022

The Man Who Made the Sari Haute

As his country’s most famous designer, Sabyasachi has persuaded Indians to see the luxury in their fashion heritage. Can he persuade Americans too?

05/06/2022

Think about the goats and the land they graze on if you buy a cashmere sweater, or opt for a more sustainable choice like marino wool.

Should we be purchasing the luxury material if we want to support sustainability?

03/21/2022

“It is a power dialectic writ in cloth; the elitist versus the Everyman; thesis and antithesis.”

How Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky transformed the meaning of a piece of cotton.

12/13/2021

11/13/2021

Button up your overcoat! One reason Napoleon lost his war against Russia is because his troops buttons fell off their clothes and exposed their bodies to the bitter cold. The tin buttons froze, and tin disintegrates when it freezes. I never learned THAT in costume or textile history classes! The German invasion of Russia also failed because of the cold; they didn't bother to bring along their winter clothes.

09/25/2021

How we press our clothes can change the world, along with what fabrics we wear and what food we eat.
https://apple.news/AuHkCGnkUSti8W7-yzvmVbQ

Vinisha Umashankar is the youngest of 15 finalists for a £1 million award launched by Prince William

05/31/2021

Great idea!

03/30/2021

Nearly 200 years ago, Dhaka muslin was the most valuable fabric on the planet. Then it was lost altogether. How did this happen? And can we bring it back?

03/26/2021

A fabric light enough to let the breezes through, but able to keep the mosquitoes away.

Dhaka muslin was immensely popular for millennia, but the secrets of its creation faded from memory by the early 20th century

03/22/2021

Polyethylene from recycled plastic bags might be good for shoes, jackets and reusable shopping bags, but not for inner wear like tee shirts and underwear. We need healthy natural fibers next to our skin!

While polyethylene, the plastic in shopping bags has never been used for clothing, MIT scientists used it to make the perfect fabric.