History & culture

A plain-woven, often printed cotton cloth named for Calicut, India, imported to Europe from the 17th century and later mass-produced during the Industrial Revolution for everyday clothing.

A jacket-making method in which a layer of horsehair or wool canvas is hand- or machine-stitched inside the front panels to shape the chest, distinct from cheaper fused interfacing.

A stitch formed by looping thread through a previous loop in a continuous chain; quick to sew but prone to unraveling if pulled from the end, it was used in early sewing machines.

English-born designer working in Paris, widely regarded as the father of haute couture; he founded the House of Worth in 1858 and was the first designer to label garments and show seasonal collections.

French designer who founded his fashion house in 1946 and launched the New Look in 1947, reviving fitted bodices and full skirts after wartime fabric rationing.

American designer credited with founding modern American sportswear in the 1930s-40s, pioneering practical, mass-producible separates such as the wrap dress and using humble fabrics like denim and cotton jersey.

French designer who founded her fashion house around 1910 and popularized relaxed, jersey-based women's wear, the little black dress, and the collarless tweed Chanel suit from the 1920s onward.

A machine patented by Eli Whitney in 1794 that mechanically separated cotton fibers from seeds, dramatically increasing cotton production and, in the American South, entrenching slave labor on plantations.

A stiffened or hooped petticoat used to hold out a wide skirt; the cage crinoline of steel hoops, introduced around 1856, replaced heavy layered petticoats and dominated 1860s fashion.

Spanish couturier who opened his Paris house in 1937, renowned for sculptural, architectural silhouettes such as the sack dress and balloon skirt built through precise draping and construction.