Chairman of the Cord

There are some fabrics that simply refuse to go away. And for good reason. That being, if it ain't broke, no need to fix it. Or reinvent the fashion and textile wheel....

Corduroy has been the cloth of choice for many a clothing maker as far back as the 18th century, especially those working primarily in the trouser department.

To this day, corduroy pants, jackets and more can be found absolutely everywhere, from the campsites of Yosemite to the catwalks of Yves Saint-Laurent.

Corduroy is both ubiquitous in terms of global popularity and completely unique in character.In some circles, corduroy is (perhaps unfairly) known as “the poor man's velvet", being that it the fabric is soft as well as incredibly durable; it feels simultaneously economical and kingly.

Someone somewhere along the line started saying that the word ‘corduroy’ was derived from the French for ‘the king’s cords,’ corde du roi, but this turned out to be a false etymology, which is a shame. There is certainly a regal quality to cords, however.

Corduroy, which has its roots in a thick cotton fabric called fustian, as it was originally woven in the Ancient Egyptian city of Fustat Cistercian monks, whose order was based on the living of a strict ascetic lifestyle, in evangelical poverty, rejecting even the slightest hint of opulence, deemed fustian to be cheap enough a material for their chasubles (sleeveless gown-like garments), but a few centuries later Shakespeare popularised the use of ‘fustian’ as an adjective to describe overly-extravagant writing or speech. Trying to decide whether to categorise the fabric as casual or luxurious proves difficult.

Roland Mouret, Rag & Bone, Lacoste and Emilia Wickstead (who claimed that Givenchy’s Clare Waight Keller copied one of her designs for Meghan Markle’s wedding dress, as if the very simple dress had any unique design features) all featured cord in their Autumn/Winter 2018 shows. Corduroy was actually more prominent in the Autumn/Winter 2017 shows, with Prada and Marc Jacobs putting it at the core of their collections, but it is now, 2 years' later, that the high street is truly catching on, with the umpteenth resurgence of designer corduroy pants, skirts, dresses and jackets hitting the shelves. It will as sure as night follows day fall out of catwalk favor again. But you can count your chickens that it won't be long before it's back in the style limelight.