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{{Short description|Woven fabric type}} |
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{{about|the textile|the skin of sharks|placoid scales|the rough leather, sometimes made of shark's skin|shagreen}} |
{{about|the textile|the skin of sharks|placoid scales|the rough leather, sometimes made of shark's skin|shagreen}} |
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{{Cleanup rewrite|date=November 2017}} |
{{Cleanup rewrite|date=November 2017}} |
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{{More citations needed|date=July 2024}} |
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'''Sharkskin''', or '''grisaille''' (from French ''gris'', meaning grey) describes a specific woven or warp-knitted fabric with a distinctive sheen. Sharkskin is a [[Twill|twill weave]] fabric created using [[cellulose acetate|acetate]], [[rayon]], [[Worsted spinning|worsted]] [[wool]], [[lycra]], and other plastic fibers. |
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{{essay-like|date=November 2011}} |
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The arrangement of darker and brighter threads in a twill weave creates a subtle pattern of lines that run across the fabric diagonally and a two tone, lustrous appearance. Primarily a suiting material, the fabric is sometimes seen in light jackets and non-fashion items such as curtains, tablecloths, and as a liner in [[diving suit]]s and [[wetsuits]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Textile Institute and Industry - Volume 5|publisher=Textile Institute|year=1967|location=The University of Michigan|pages=174}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Frank Pollatsek, William Seitz|first=Louis Goldblatt|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S-9QAQAAMAAJ&q=Sharkskin+fabric|title=Fabrics Today and Drycleaning - Volume 1|publisher=New York Neighborhood Cleaners Association|year=1952|location=Origin University of Minnesota|pages=36}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Tregonning|first=Melwyn|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=U2_eKSjcW_gC&dq=sharkskin+fabric+definition&pg=PT335|title=Fabric Dictionary|publisher=Mel Tregonning}}</ref> |
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[[File:Верман Михаил Игоревич, 2011 год.jpg|thumb|right|Contemporary sharkskin "shiny suit"]] |
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'''Sharkskin''' is a smooth [[worsted]] fabric with a soft texture and a two-toned woven appearance. |
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Lightweight and wrinkle-free, sharkskin is ideal for curtains, tablecloths and napkins. Sharkskin fabric is popular for both men’s and women’s worsted suits, light winter jackets and coats. Sharkskin is commonly used as a liner in [[diving suit]]s and [[wetsuits]].{{cn|date=June 2019}} |
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{{Cleanup rewrite|date=May 2023|section=yes}} |
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Sharkskin has historically been made with different types of natural fibers, including [[mohair]], [[wool]] and [[silk]]. |
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More expensive variations exist and are often demarcated by fabric content labels bearing "Golden Fleece" or "Royal" titles. These indicate an older style of sharkskin fabric that was extremely rare and were costly to produce. These fabrics produced in small quantities, were manufactured in South America by transplanted German and Italian weavers during the 1950s and 1960s. The South American produced sharkskin included local materials such as vicuna, guanaco, or alpaca in such blends. |
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Typically, sharkskin fabric is made with the use of [[rayon]] or [[cellulose acetate|acetate]] or as a blend of the two, and its two-toned woven appearance is achieved by basketweaving, thereby creating a pattern in which the colored threads run diagonal to the white fibers. Because both fabric options already have a relatively smooth texture, the combination results in the finish for which sharkskin fabric is known. |
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Natural sharkskin fabric was made primarily using silk fibers woven to create a signature two-tone patter.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Harris|first=Milton|title=Natural and Synthetic Fibers Yearbook|year=1962|pages=156}}</ref> |
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{{Unreferenced section|date=November 2011}} |
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The finest "natural sharkskin" fabric has been historically made of all natural fibers, being some mixture of [[mohair]], [[wool]] and [[silk]]. |
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More expensive variations, often demarcated by fabric content labels bearing "Golden Fleece", "Royal" or the like, indicate an extremely rare and costly "sharkskin" of yester-year. Those fabrics, produced in small quantities, were manufactured in South America (Peru and Argentina: by transplanted German/Italian weavers) from the 1950s and 60s and are known to include in some instances even small percentages of [[vicuna]], [[guanaco]] or [[alpaca fibre|alpaca]] in such blends: inclusion of silk (then a very costly fiber) was even more common among the "natural sharkskins". Whereas, "artificial sharkskin", a much less costly substitute, is a fabric variant that is more often found from that period and can contain synthesized or synthetic fibers that were developed contemporary to those eras. |
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==Artificial variations== |
==Artificial variations== |
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[[File:Sharkskin wetsuit.jpg|thumb|right|Women's artificial sharkskin [[wetsuit]], 1970s.]] |
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Artificial sharkskin variants used for suiting first appeared in the 1950s and rapidly garnered worldwide appeal in artificial sharkskin (costing much less than its "natural" counterpart: which most consumers were not aware existed, so far out of their price range it remained), attaining broad popularity in the early [[1960s fashion|1960s]] and the [[disco era]] of the [[1970s in fashion|late 70s]], followed by brief fashion resurgences in the mid-1980s, mid-1990s and late 2000s: its variations often contain some [[wool]] percentage blend. More recently, such artificial sharkskin fabrics have undergone technological improvements and have attained new desirability, even among "fabric purists" who would have conventionally rejected out-of-hand any "artificial sharkskin" substitutes for the real item containing a majority percentage of [[mohair]]. |
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The term "Super-Sharkskin" has been used to describe relatively costly sharkskin fabrics which include some percentage of synthetic fibers.{{citation needed|date=August 2013}} The addition of synthetics can create a heightened metallic-like sheen, and/or added flexibility (as with a 2% [[Lycra]] blend). |
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==Fashionability== |
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Many attribute the "fading in and out of fashion" of sharkskin of any sort to the fact that many of the ubiquitous "artificial sharkskin" variants had "created an indelible public impression that all sharkskin ought to be deemed "tacky", to be eschewed, as it is in Lisa Birnbach's Official Preppy Handbook, 1980, which reflected, and in itself, in-turn, influenced, many consumers' misgivings regarding its social status. From the late [[2000s fashion|2000s]] until the mid [[2010s fashion|2010s]], three piece sharkskin "shiny suits", sometimes incorporating a contrasting [[shawl collar]], briefly became fashionable in America and Australia due to a resurgence of interest in the early [[1960s fashion]]s depicted in [[Mad Men]].<ref>[http://www.esquire.com/style/mens-fashion/advice/a13980/shiny-suit-rules-050912/ Shiny suit rules]</ref><ref>[https://cinesnark.com/2012/12/11/a-guide-to-suit-problems-for-men/ Suit problems for men]</ref><ref>[http://bostinno.streetwise.co/all-series/boston-style-how-to-buy-a-suit/ Boston style guide]</ref> |
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Artificial sharkskin variants used for suiting first appeared in the 1950s. These variants made more significant use of [[wool]] and synthetic fibers in their construction. The addition of synthetics can create a heightened metallic-like sheen, and/or added flexibility. Artificial sharkskin, in part for its comparably low price point, gained traction as a clothing material in the early [[1960s fashion|1960s]] and the [[disco era]] of the [[1970s in fashion|late 1970s]]. Its popularity waned, but enjoyed brief fashion resurgences in the mid-1980s, mid-1990s and late 2000s. |
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Importantly, whether "natural" or "artificial", today the line between the two has been blurred by the advance of innovative blends. Nonetheless, "natural sharkskin" from the 1950s and 1960s men's and women's suits remain highly sought in the vintage clothing market, commanding extraordinary prices online. The most desired sharkskin colors feature a peacock iridescent palette. |
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==Middle East== |
==Middle East== |
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British |
British diplomat [[Terence Clark|Sir Terence Clark]] in the 1950s served in Bahrain. He reminisced that the requisite winter evening wear for a diplomat was a white sharkskin dinner jacket.<ref>Churchill College Cambridge. [http://www.chu.cam.ac.uk/archives/collections/BDOHP/Clark.pdf "British Diplomatic Oral History Programme (BDOHP)"]. Archived interview: Former member of the British Diplomatic service Charles Cullimore interviews fellow diplomat Sir Terence Clark on Friday 8, November 2002. Retrieved June 8, 2011.</ref> [[Lucette Lagnado]] in her prize-winning memoir about her childhood, ''The Man in the White Sharkskin Suit: My Family's Exodus from Old Cairo to the New World'' uses the imagery of the white sharkskin suit to evoke the glamorous evening life in Egypt in the 1950s. Early in ''[[Justine (Durrell novel)|Justine]]'', [[Lawrence Durrell]] mentions the heroine sitting in front of a multi-panel mirror trying out a sharkskin dress; the book is set in the high society of diplomats and businessmen in [[Alexandria]] in the 1930s, a city where Durrell spent much time during [[World War II]], a few years later.<ref>{{Cite web |title=BBC Home - Breaking News, World News, US News, Sports, Business, Innovation, Climate, Culture, Travel, Video & Audio |url=https://www.bbc.com/ |access-date=2024-07-02 |website=www.bbc.com |language=en-GB}}</ref> |
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== See also == |
== See also == |
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Latest revision as of 02:40, 28 December 2024
 | This article may need to be rewritten to comply with Wikipedia's quality standards. (November 2017) |
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (July 2024) |
Sharkskin, or grisaille (from French gris, meaning grey) describes a specific woven or warp-knitted fabric with a distinctive sheen. Sharkskin is a twill weave fabric created using acetate, rayon, worsted wool, lycra, and other plastic fibers.
The arrangement of darker and brighter threads in a twill weave creates a subtle pattern of lines that run across the fabric diagonally and a two tone, lustrous appearance. Primarily a suiting material, the fabric is sometimes seen in light jackets and non-fashion items such as curtains, tablecloths, and as a liner in diving suits and wetsuits.[1][2][3]
Composition
[edit]
| This section may need to be rewritten to comply with Wikipedia's quality standards. (May 2023) |
Sharkskin has historically been made with different types of natural fibers, including mohair, wool and silk.
More expensive variations exist and are often demarcated by fabric content labels bearing "Golden Fleece" or "Royal" titles. These indicate an older style of sharkskin fabric that was extremely rare and were costly to produce. These fabrics produced in small quantities, were manufactured in South America by transplanted German and Italian weavers during the 1950s and 1960s. The South American produced sharkskin included local materials such as vicuna, guanaco, or alpaca in such blends.
Natural sharkskin fabric was made primarily using silk fibers woven to create a signature two-tone patter.[4]
Artificial variations
[edit]Artificial sharkskin variants used for suiting first appeared in the 1950s. These variants made more significant use of wool and synthetic fibers in their construction. The addition of synthetics can create a heightened metallic-like sheen, and/or added flexibility. Artificial sharkskin, in part for its comparably low price point, gained traction as a clothing material in the early 1960s and the disco era of the late 1970s. Its popularity waned, but enjoyed brief fashion resurgences in the mid-1980s, mid-1990s and late 2000s.
Middle East
[edit]British diplomat Sir Terence Clark in the 1950s served in Bahrain. He reminisced that the requisite winter evening wear for a diplomat was a white sharkskin dinner jacket.[5] Lucette Lagnado in her prize-winning memoir about her childhood, The Man in the White Sharkskin Suit: My Family's Exodus from Old Cairo to the New World uses the imagery of the white sharkskin suit to evoke the glamorous evening life in Egypt in the 1950s. Early in Justine, Lawrence Durrell mentions the heroine sitting in front of a multi-panel mirror trying out a sharkskin dress; the book is set in the high society of diplomats and businessmen in Alexandria in the 1930s, a city where Durrell spent much time during World War II, a few years later.[6]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ The Textile Institute and Industry - Volume 5. The University of Michigan: Textile Institute. 1967. p. 174.
- ^ Frank Pollatsek, William Seitz, Louis Goldblatt (1952). Fabrics Today and Drycleaning - Volume 1. Origin University of Minnesota: New York Neighborhood Cleaners Association. p. 36.
- ^ Tregonning, Melwyn. Fabric Dictionary. Mel Tregonning.
- ^ Harris, Milton (1962). Natural and Synthetic Fibers Yearbook. p. 156.
- ^ Churchill College Cambridge. "British Diplomatic Oral History Programme (BDOHP)". Archived interview: Former member of the British Diplomatic service Charles Cullimore interviews fellow diplomat Sir Terence Clark on Friday 8, November 2002. Retrieved June 8, 2011.
- ^ "BBC Home - Breaking News, World News, US News, Sports, Business, Innovation, Climate, Culture, Travel, Video & Audio". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 2024-07-02.