Knitted Textiles, Sportsclothes and the Development of London Wholesale Couture: 1920–1939

Abstract

This paper considers the garments produced by two London Ready-to-Wear companies; Rose and Blairman and Matita, during the 1920s and 1930s. It centres on the sportsclothes produced by these two firms and questions why their output was primarily made from knitted textiles. Rose and Blairman and Matita later went on to become leading wholesale couture firms. The focus period of this paper largely represents the pre-history of the wholesale couture sector, the term first used in the mid 1930s. However, this paper establishes why knitted textiles and sportsclothes were central to Rose and Blairman and Matita’s output and how these ultimately helped to ensure the early success of the sector.

Keywords:

• Wholesale couture
• sportsclothes
• knitted textiles
• Rose and Blairman
• Matita

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Liz Tregenza

Liz Tregenza is a fashion and business historian. She is currently a lecturer at London College of Fashion and runs her own vintage business. She is the author of Wholesale Couture: London and Beyond, 1930–1970 (2023) and co-editor of Everyday Fashion: Interpreting British Clothing since 1600 (2023). She was awarded her PhD by the University of Brighton in 2018. [email protected]