Janoschka magazine Linked_V4_2019

issue #4 ©
l i n k e d
19
A new dawning
People expressed their new world view
with their clothes as tokens of their changed
attitudes and their new lifestyle. Until then,
fashion had been dominated by the tastes of
a wealthy and above all, established elite. The
styles worn by young people hardly differed
from their parents’ generation: girls and young
women wore the same dresses and coats as
their mothers – often even made by them – and
went out carrying handbags, gloves and hats.
Then everything changed overnight: the popstars
of the era were absolute gods. Their
clothing and way of life had a major impact
through the young medium of television. At the
same time, increasing financial independence
allowed young people to do what they wanted.
They were able to express their identity
and their feeling of freedom. The fashion
industry quickly responded by creating designs
for young people that no longer simply copied
“grown up” styles. Innovative designers were
seen as creators of fame, sex appeal and glamour.
They created a new market for youth fashion.
A new “business model” was essential for the
full potential of this new kind of youth fashion
to be exploited. As a result, a special type of
boutique emerged in London, i.e. small self-service
shops providing ordinary young people with
affordable fashion. The shopping experience
was a far cry from the more formal outfitters
and old-fashioned department stores.
Their radical new approach with expressive
colours, distinct lines and individual items that
could be combined in a creative way swiftly
spread across the whole Western world. To this
day, this kind of fashion boutique characterises
city centres and our shopping experience. They
were the expression of a wild, revolutionary and
free generation.
Printed fabrics
Textile printing is an old tradition
that has always required expertise
and precision. As the demand for
large-format printed images grew
in the 1920s, textile screen printing
started to develop in Europe and the
United States parallel to the advent
of graphic screen printing.
Rotary screen printing is the technique
of choice when printing fabric
panels. The fabric lies flat, the printing
tool is a sleeve or cylinder. Acting
as a template with a perforated
surface, it allows ink to be applied to
the open sections.
The cylinder rotates in one direction
in sync with the movement of the
fabric. A doctor blade fixed inside
the cylinder applies the ink to the
fabric.
Printing on textile substrates is more
complex than printing on paper because
different fabrics require special
inks and printing tools. The automation
of printing processes has
not changed this. Working closely
with the designer, the engraver perforates
the nickel sleeves for the
cylinders based on the design to be
printed. Since the screen printing
templates often have a maximum
thickness of just 100 µ, but can
measure up to 3.5 metres in width,
the manufacture and handling of
screen-printing templates requires
the utmost care and expertise.