Glass, that most contradictory of materials, has been used as a textile.
Mid-century design in Europe and America took advantage of glass fibre and its unique qualities. The fabrics made from glass fibres are shiny and slippery, echoing the trend then for clean lines and crisp looks in fashion and interiors. A pair of fibreglass curtains is in the collection at the studio, somewhat similar to the one pictured left.
But the use of glass for textiles is not a modern invention. In the early 1890s, a dress made of spun glass and silk was exhibited at the World’s Fair in Chicago. This dress and the parasol that accompanied it were created by French seamstress Madame Victorine Carmody in New York City during the early 1890s for well-known stage actress and comedian Georgia Cayvan. They were made as a publicity stunt for the Libbey Glass Company at a time when the organisation was dealing with the rise of inexpensive alternatives to its glass production.
A second dress was made for Infanta (Princess) Eulalia of Spain, who was so impressed with the result that she allowed the company to use the royal coat of arms on its advertising. Sadly this piece has not survived completely and only the original and its parasol are still extant. Even this early use of glass is not the first in textiles for Rene- Antoine Ferchault de Reaumur in 1713 created fabrics decorated with fine glass threads.
Glass is also used as a medium for artists. In 2004 Karen Lamont, an American artist, sculpted Evening Dress with Shawl and Ulrike Umlauf-Orrom creates fused glass that looks like fabric in her work. Maria Ray Johansson from Sweden weaves with glass, Alison Lowery who is based in Northern Ireland studied textiles and glass, using both disciplines to create mesmerising sculpture, while French craftswomen Lucile Viaud and Aurélia Leblanc have created “woven geo-glass”.
Glass is also used in industry for applications that need heat resistant material, or fabrics that do not stretch, or those that will resist chemicals. It is a material that has unique characteristics and it lends itself to these kinds of uses.
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