In the age of Aquarius, when Jupiter aligned with Mars, the most happening fashions were made of polyester.
Harmony and understanding prevailed between the consumer and man-made fibers. But when consumers were subjected to the deluge of double-knit duds in the `70s, havoc reigned, and the American fashion industry was dealt a serious blow.
The fabric was initially praised for its long-wearing characteristics. But when hot, bulky double-knits arrived on the scene, consumers began to miss the breathability of the cotton and wool clothing. When they began to see mass-produced budget garments made of the same fabric, fashion-conscious consumers turned away from anything with polyester entirely.
The stigma remained so strong that in the early 1980s the Polyester Council petitioned the Federal Trade Commission to try to change the fabric`s name, according to spokeswoman Wendy Winters, but the petition was denied.
A POX ON POLYESTER
The jokes have all but disappeared, but the negative label remains.
”There is a stigma about polyester,” said Lee Willis, co-owner of Jona fashion boutiques in the Los Angeles area, who admitted he hasn`t seen as much polyester in the stores in some time.
”People might think many of the things they buy, particularly some of the polyester blouses, are silk. Some of the sportswear they buy, they think it is made only of cotton or wool. They probably wouldn`t guess there is poly in it. It is not as telltale as it used to be.”
The polyester prejudice is even more pronounced than that of rayon. Though rayon is derived from natural wood products, it undergoes a process that transforms it from pulp to fabric so it can be woven.
According to Winters, rayon was originally developed as an insulator, not as a fabric. It was created to protect the filaments inside light bulbs, and it wasn`t until after World War II that the fabric was born. Though Winters said many designers try to pass rayon off as a ”natural” fabric, because it is composed of natural raw materials, polyester also qualifies under those guidelines.
DYED DINOSAUR?
”If rayon is a natural fiber made from wood pulp, then polyester is fabric made from dead dinosaurs,” she joked, referring to the fossil fuels used to make it.
Polyester was introduced in 1951 under a single name. Today there are more than 20 brand names for what was once called the ”miracle fiber.”
Synthetic fibers, in one form or another, are found in more than 50 percent of garments made in America.
Woe to the fabric snob who reads garment labels looking for natural fibers exclusively. The number of garments made of polyester, rayon or any number of other fabrics derived from the two and then blended with something else is on the rise.
Today`s polyester bears little resemblance to its ancestors. Many man-made fibers are blended with natural fibers to create fabrics so discreet that the polyester or rayon is virtually undetectable. Winters said that designers such as Donna Karan use Lycra, Bob Mackie uses woven polyester and polyester net for his beaded gowns and Mary McFadden has used polyester to create her Fortuny-pleated signature gowns.
So improved are today`s man-made fibers that the Polyester Council, an organization formed in 1982 by fiber companies, developed a ”touch” test of equal halves of natural and unnatural fibers to dispel negative misconceptions.
A TOUCHY SUBJECT
In June, the council began taking its touch test around the country. Of the 900 manufacturers, fashion editors, retailers and models who took the test, Winters said, 98 percent could not tell the difference. Of the fashion editors who took the test at a men`s fashion market held last summer in Rye, N.Y., not one could distinguish between the swatches without error, according to Winters.
”You have to give (man-made fibers) credit where credit is due,” said Chip Tolbert, fashion director for the Men`s Fashion Association, who recently took the swatch touch test and flunked it. Tolbert, previously a spokesman for the Polyester Council, remembers jokes speculating as to ”how many polys do you have to kill to make a pair of pants?”
Today, Tolbert`s business requires him to travel for the MFA with garments blended with synthetics. He said few people can tell a blend by feeling the fabric alone. The reaction when they know polyester is in it, he said, is often negative.
”Calvin Klein said on `60 Minutes` about two years ago that he would never use polyester in his clothes,” Winters said. ”When the Polyester Council saw the program, they went into the retail marketplace and found some garments in his licensees that had polyester in them.”
Winters said there were some TV viewers who wrote in and complained to Klein that they liked and wore blends and were outraged by his condemnation of polyester. That group is only one fraction of the 85 percent of the American population that wears clothes with man-made fibers. The remaining consumers who do wear it, Winters said, remain in a phase of denial.
”What they say and what they wear are two different things,” she said.
”Man-made fibers are in their closets, in the form of men`s dress shirts or women`s blouses. Even those who claim they never wear polyester wear pantyhose and undergarments with Lycra and other man-made fibers in them.”
CHECKING THE LABEL
Shopper Anita Goldman of Westlake Village, Calif., dressed in a cotton sweater and cotton pants during a recent shopping trip, said she rarely if ever bought clothes with man-made fibers in them.
Betty McPeak of Santa Monica, while shopping for a pair of black velvet pants recently, said she preferred clothes made of pure wool and silk rather than polyester. Yet McPeak, when presented with a top and pant ensemble that, unknown to her, was made of 100 percent polyester, said she liked the feel of it. When told of the fabric content, she was surprised.
”Well, they`re making it better than they used to,” she said.
Cindy Francescon of Westlake Village, dressed in a cotton navy-and-white- striped top and matching pants for her shopping excursion, said, ”I buy better garments for fall and winter, but in the summer I am not as
particular.”
Francescon said that she reads labels to see the content of fabrics and looks for wool, silk and cotton-her three favorites-but she will buy blends for summer.
”I don`t like to spend a lot of money on summer clothes,” said Francescon, citing David Hayes and Donna Karan as two of her favorite designers. ”I save for my fall and winter wardrobe.”
When asked whether she knew some of the garments in the Karan collection were regularly made with Lycra, Francescon said she was surprised to learn that, but the inclusion would not deter her from purchasing Karan designs.
”If I really like the piece, I would buy it,” Francescon said. ”I don`t think I`m that snooty.” –
