Fibers

The development of new blends and finishes for linen ensures that this ancient fiber remains relevant to the demands of the modern consumer.

Synthetic blends can improve crease recovery, create exciting new textures, and offer aspects that appeal to both premium brands and price-competitive markets seeking to experience previously unattainable luxury products.

The history of linen

Linen is the oldest textile in the world, predating cotton and possibly even wool, and is known to have been in use during the Stone Age.

Since then its popularity as a clothing textile has risen and fallen with the changing times, but it is thankfully once again being appreciated for all it has to offer the contemporary consumer.

Linen reflects a heritage and aspirational lifestyle that speaks of refinement and quality.

Linen has been highly valued for many centuries for its incomparable hand and unique visual appeal. It embodies a desirable, authentic, low-key luxury that continues to transcend the vagaries of fast fashion.

Linen fiber possesses unique practical properties that, coupled with a subtle and refined touch, have assured its fashion longevity.

It has become synonymous with a classic, relaxed elegance and is the supreme choice for comfort in hot weather.
Its cool, absorbent properties are well recognized the world over and are unparalleled by any other natural fiber.

Linen has a very specific tactile appeal; smooth and lustrous to both the eye and hand, the fiber is almost silky in texture, yet embodies a springy freshness.

It can also express a robust personality in heavier weaves that may lend it a satisfying drape.

Conversely, lighter weights can have an almost featherlight aspect evocative of the draperies of Ancient Egyptian and Greek cultures.

Pure linen will always endure in contemporary fashion.

Its natural creasing lends clothing made from it an unmistakable character, while its inherent anti-static properties make it fall away from the body, flutter, and undulate in response to movement.

Range of uses

Linen is ostensibly a tough fabric.

Ancient Greek infantrymen wore protective clothing made of linen, and jackets of padded linen were worn under the chain mail of medieval knights for additional protection against arrows.

Symbolic of purity, Jewish and Christian religious vestments were and are still made from linen.
The structure of woven linen made it a perfect medium for all types of embroidery and drawn thread work.

It was also the yarn of choice for fine needle- and bobbin-lace work. Sixteenth-century ruffs were made of heavily starched linen, the best of which was from Flanders .
Linen was also used for making paper and bindings for books. The Liberlinteus of Zagreb is an intact Etruscan textbook made of linen. It is still today the material of choice for archival quality book-binding, and many artists choose to paint on linen canvas.

Early history

Linen is believed to have first been systematically cultivated in Mesopotamia, in the Middle East region known as the "cradle of civilization," around 5000 to 6000 BC.

The ancient Egyptians and Babylonians cultivated flax, which was then traded with other societies of the region by the Phoenicians.

The ancient Egyptians developed a sophisticated linen "industry" so valuable was the commodity that it was sometimes used as a form of currency.

Linen was seen as a symbol of light and purity, as much as it was a display of wealth for the afterlife.

A shroud for an important Pharaoh would often consist of over half a mile (I km) of fine linen. Some of these shrouds were so finely spun and woven that they still cannot be replicated by modern methods.

The linen curtains that shielded the tomb of Tutankhamun were found intact after over 3,000 years, while parts of the shroud of Rameses Il were microscopically examined by the British Museum and found to be structurally perfect after almost 3,500 years.

Among the earliest records documenting the manufacturing of linen are the ancient Greek tablets of Pylos.

Concurrently, ancient Roman blueprints show that their manufacturing methods closely resembled current manufacturing processes.

Throughout Renaissance and baroque Europe, linen was associated with wealth. In various European courts, periodically, sumptuary laws were passed to curtail the inordinate

expenditure on dress, which often referred to the use of linen longevity. lace. This was also a useful method of of enforcing strict social hierarchy through dress, an early form of dress code.

In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries the appearance of linen was more restrained, perhaps echoing the new age of enlightenment, but it was still considered an almost obligatory sign of refinement. A gentleman's wardrobe and status was judged by the quantity and quality of his linen.

Beau Brummell (1778-1840), the famous Regency dandy and arbiter of taste, had the maxim: "fine linen and plenty of it, all perfectly starched and freshly laundered." He considered this to be "the maximum of luxury in the service of minimal ostentation."

In 1805, at his most fashionable, he ordered 75 yards (68 m) of fine Irish linen for his shirts and bed sheets, as well as a quantity of Irish linen damask for his nightshirts.
In nineteenth-century Europe the status of a gentleman was judged by the quality and quantity of his linens, however flax was also part of the fabric of everyday village life. Prior to the Industrial Revolution and mass urbanization, flax (see "Linen fiber," page 136) was cultivated, spun, and woven by peasant farmers for their own consumption, producing a cloth that was coarser and less refined than the flax that was commercially traded and valued.

Postwar demands

In the industrialized world, linen, in common with other natural fibers, fell out of fashion after World War II. The new preference was for synthetics, which were more in tune with the contemporary preoccupation for modernity and expectations of an easy-care lifestyle, which better suited women's new role in the workplace. High-maintenance fabrics, together with many other domestic chores, were replaced by anything and everything that could simplify life.

By the 196os, in Great Britain and North America, linen had developed something of an esoteric status, appealing to only a certain type of consumer. However, in the Mediterranean and South America linen continued to enjoy popularity, because synthetics were not able to offer the same level of coolness and comfort in hot climates.

By the mid-1970s linen as a clothing fabric was at an all-time low, with less than to percent of linen produced being used for fashion textiles. Investment in the industry during the 1980s and into the 1990s resulted in technological developments that eliminated many of the traditional characteristics of linen that were not liked by the average mass-market retail customer.

Mechanical pretreatments, enzymes, and ammonia have made linen into a totally modern fabric that can be wrinkle-free, shrink-resistant, and sometimes even non-iron.

By the mid-1990s linen's unique appeal was once more appreciated, with around 70 percent of linen production being again used for fashion fabrics.

Today there are special linen and cotton blends being developed for use in denim production, with the aim of improving the feel of this fashion staple in hot and humid climates.
Linen continued to be the fabric of choice until the end of the nineteenth century, used for all intimate apparel, gentlemen's shirts, women's chemises and dresses, as well as for general household textiles.

So omnipresent was linen as a household textile that today, in English-speaking countries, the term is generically used to describe bed, bathroom, table, and kitchen textiles, even though the majority are now no longer made of linen. Linen cupboards are still in use and retail stores still refer to "linen" departments.

The last vestige of linen as an essential symbol of a well-dressed gentleman was a neatly folded, well-laundered pocket handkerchief worn in the out-breast top pocket of a suit, a styling detail that was to become a fashion anachronism with the new wave of social changes of the mid-1960s.

The First World War

Until the twentieth century flax cultivation was very much a cottage industry; however, with increased mechanization the demand for factory-scale production became inevitable. Flax was a vital supply during World War I, for both sides. It was used for tents, ropes, and canvas for airplanes. The scale of production was insufficient to meet the voracious appetite of the war machine, so the supply was supplemented with cotton, which was more readily available due to its faster manufacturing methods.

During the interwar years this less expensive, and perhaps more manageable, fabric eventually usurped linen's position as the fabric of choice.

Huguenots

In 1685 Louis XIV revoked the Edict of Nantes resulting in religious persecution against the Protestant Huguenots. The majority of Huguenots lived in northeast France and Flanders and were predominantly skilled silk and linen weavers.

Many of the silk weavers fled to London, settled, and set up their looms in Spitalfields.

By contrast, the linen weavers migrated to Ulster (Northern Ireland). The British government knew that their skills in weaving fine linen would benefit the existing industry, so encouraged the Huguenots to the province with privileges and financial incentives.

Louis Crommelin (1652-1727) was invited by the government of King William (of Orange) to join fellow Huguenots and further develop the industry.

He introduced new industry methods, such as mass bleaching, and developed the commercial export trade. His lasting legacy was the foundation of today's modern linen industry.
Linen has been so fundamental to the region that it was often described as the "fabric of Ireland."

The development of European linen

The countries that more aptly developed the growing of flax, together with more sophisticated spinning, weaving, and manufacturing techniques, are those that today are still ecognized as producing the best product.

Until the 1950s, Belgium, France, the Netherlands, and Ireland were considered the best producers and manufacturers of linen. Italy, alongside other Mediterranean countries, was valued for producing good handmade linen products.

Irish linen

It is believed that the Phoenicians first traded Egyptian linen fabric and flax seeds with Ireland long before the advent of Christianity, although evidence of an organized industry was not apparent until the twelfth century.

Fifteenth-century English travelers remarked on how "the wild Irish wore chemises of 30 to 40 ells of linen, dyed with saffron."

Flemish (Handers) linen

Historically Flanders is the geographic region that now overlaps parts of northeast France, Belgium, and the adjoining Netherlands.

Today Flanders designates the Flemish community of these regions. The cities of Ghent and Bruges in Belgium and Lille in France were all once part of Flanders.

The climate and geography of the region make it ideal for the cultivation of flax, which was originally an ancillary crop grown to be woven during the long winter months, while the farmers waited for the next crop-growing cycle to begin.

During the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries-the golden age of Flemish fabrics-the linen trade flourished.

Linen fabric and yarn for lace was especially valued, bringing prosperity to the region, which became one of the most urbanized parts of Europe. Tielt in West Flanders was the center of the linen industry.

Around the 1790s nearly 20 percent of households were involved in linen production, a figure that grew to over 70 percent by the 1840s.
Flax was cultivated in the region around Ypres using seeds from both Holland and Riga, which produced better crops.
Spain and its South American colonies formed the primary export market, however trade barriers were later imposed that dramatically affected the industry-as did the mechanization of cotton production-which fell into decline.

Today, through design, technology, and the merging of several companies, Belgian linen is once again a desirable commodity and a competitive product equaling that of Irish linen.

Linen industry

In 1711 the Board of Trustees of the Linen Manufacturers of Ireland, also referred to as the Linen Board, was established.

This, together with the introduction of tariff protection, further encouraged the development of the industry.

By the mid-eighteenth century around 500 Huguenot families had the controlling influence in the Irish linen trade, by now firmly established in the northern provinces between the rivers Bann and Lagan, collectively known as the "linen homelands."

Flax needs well-prepared ground and was therefore usually planted after a potato crop.

This rotation of crops saved the region from the potato blight and famine that adversely affected the rest of Ireland.

The region further profited from the American Civil War, because the resulting shortage of cotton increased the demand and price of linen.

At its height almost two-thirds of the linen produced was destined for export, of which nearly 90 percent was to England. By this point Belfast was known as Linenopolis.

The Industrial Revolution came late to Ireland. Labor was
cheaper here than in mainland England, so the linen industry developed more slowly than that of cotton, giving cotton the competitive edge.

However, when the Revolution did reach Linenopolis, the province's engineering developed quickly around the requirements of its most important industry.

Up to and during World War I, Ulster was the largest linen producer in the world, and strategically very important to the war effort.

By the eatly 192os almost every town or village had a mill or factory, and 70,000 people, which represented about 40 percent of the workforce of Northern Ireland, were directly involved in the linen industry.

Today there are only about 1o significant companies, and fewer than 4,000 people directly employed in producing linen. Very little flax is now grown in Ireland; the majority is imported from Eastern Europe.

The expertise that was once the backbone of the linen industry is now the driving force behind design and technology in spinning, dyeing, and weaving.

Luxury linen

Irish linen is a valuable and desirable commodity and if spun or woven in Ireland can carry the Irish Linen Guild's logo of authenticity.

This assures it is a luxurious product worthy of global recognition.

In the mid-199os the Living Linen Project was set up to record first-hand information about the linen industry in the twentieth century, since it is considered integral to the country's cultural identity.

(Source: Notes from a lecture by Mr Daniel McCrea to students of the Irish Linen Guild, 1971)