It seems a lot of you have a soft spot for corduroy.
But did you know there's an official Corduroy Appreciation Club? Yup, it's a real thing. Miles Rohan is the man who set up the New York-based “secret society” that only meets on dates resembling corduroy (such as the 11th of November, 11/11). They come together to talk about, well, corduroy.
“If I’m not wearing at least one piece of corduroy, I don’t feel right. The repetition, the parallel lines, the thickness I’ve always thought, provided a kind of order and support. And because I’m not entirely the most orderly person, it helps. Even when I was little I loved corduroy. It made me feel grown up and sophisticated.” - Miles Rohan
This guy really loves cord. But he's not the only one.
The Whale is a symbol of Corduroy, nodding to the raised ridges of Corduroy called 'Wales'.
Corduroy is an uber tactile fabric that's super soft and luxurious but very hard-wearing too. Those raised ridges have a habit of bouncing light making the colours richer and revealing interesting shades to this fabric that has been around for centuries.
It's a staple workwear fabric too. Some of the earliest chore jackets we found in European archives were made from corduroy. Some nearly a century-old looked brand new. The practical benefits have never been in doubt. And it's a fabric that gets better with age.
But, why is it called Corduroy?
The word corduroy was coined in the UK around the late 18th Century using the French translation of ‘cloth of the King’ (corde du roi).
Duca Visconti.
Duca Visconti are the makers of our corduroy. They're no strangers to corduroy. In fact, they've been making it since the 1830s and have developed our 'MasterCord' that is super soft but strong.
It's 'W Bound' which means that the raised ribs can't rub off. When we spoke to the team about the quality of their cord, they told us a great story about their earliest methods of testing its durability.
In the 1800's, the owner of the mill, the Duke of Visconti was a horse rider. To test the corduroy made by the mill, he'd wear a pair of trousers made out of the fabric and go for horse riding in them for a few months. If the fabric lasted, then it passed his test.
The King of Cord.
Each item of clothing, style, and fabric has it's own icons. And there is definitely a King of Cord. His name, Wes Anderson.
Known for his distinct cinematic visuals, colour palettes and camera angles, no one has done more to elevate corduroy than Wes. On and off set, corduroy is his uniform.
His favourite is the Burnt Orange suit that he wears 200 days a year. In fact, he sent his cord trousers to the prop makers working on his animated film, Fantastic Mr Fox, so they could do justice to the fabric when making a suit for Foxy, the lead character narrated by George Clooney.
So yeah, when it comes to having a soft spot for corduroy, you’re not the only one.
