FASHION: From NYC to London

In NYC cultural history is extremely huge; music, fashion, sports, you name it. London is another amazing city and also known for their history in uprising of various youth cultures. For example, the creation of acid house was brought from Ibiza to the London area where thousands of young people would throw huge outdoor jams, completely illegal, but as these parties became popular in the 60s, it was the birth of raving in London! Around the same time period, in NYC the party was also interesting as a man named David Mancuso was known for "The Loft" in Soho. He owned a space and made it open to all creative minds, and he is now known as a pioneer for the birth of disco and underground music in NYC.

With a strong connection to music, it is only natural by cultural correlation, that both cities have a strong presence in fashion. There is an importance in handling materials when dealing with fashion, as experienced designers know what material they'd want to use with an initial feel. There is this mysterious story about the history of nylon and how the name itself is an abbreviation of 'New York" and "London", two amazing cities of the world... but why?

Today Nylon is a material that is used in the making of tents, outerwear, sporting bags, and combat uniforms to name a few products. As the weather gets colder and people will start to hit the slopes, tech jackets will be seen more and nylon plays a critical role in the make up of the outer shell of most good jackets. The discovery of nylon was announced in 1938 at the New York World's Fair by DuPont Laboratories. The strong and flexible properties of the polymer is what makes the material so popular in products that need to withstand strong weather conditions. Jackets today may even have a polymer blend of nylon with other materials to create more a durable outter layer.

It is important in fashion and even just as a consumer to understand what materials your clothing is made from as designers take great time in choosing these fabrics. It's pretty amazing that in the 1940s nylon was primarily used to make stockings for women and now it is used in almost all outerwear. Below are some jackets where nylon is a primary material for the outter shell of the jacket, however, they all have somewhat different purposes in the winter.

Colette Junya Watanabe – Padded Jacket designed for hunting however can simply be worn for a stroll around the LES.

Penfield Rockford Down Insulated Jacket is intended to be used for hiking but once again can be worn to walk to your Sunday afternoon brunch spot in Williamsburg.

Burton Heritage Reversible Anorak Snowboard Jacket is a more technical looking jacket compared to the two above and designed for snowboarding but that only means it's the perfect jacket for a snowball fight!