The tie reveals a lot about its wearer, his social position, his aesthetic tastes or political stance. From the start of the 17th until the beginning of the 20th century, a diverse combination of fabrics, colors, and knots adorned the male – and occasionally also the female – neck. Today, the tie is back in fashion. This topicality forms the starting point of the exhibition, which presents the accessory in all its facets.
Steinkirk, Short tie, cravate, Jabot or Lavallière – the accessory has been worn in many different ways since the 17th century. In the 20th century, the long tie as we know it today became popular. With the growing simplification and uniformity of men’s fashion, the tie expressed individuality and personal style. The modern tie reached its interim pinnacle between the 1950s and 1970s, when variations in terms of motifs and technology were enthusiastically explored. After that, it became more restrained, and was primarily a signifier for particular professions and worn on formal occasions.
Today, the accessory is being newly interpreted, traditions are questioned, and so is the appropriate context for wearing a tie. The tie is evidently back in fashion, with TV series such as ‘Mad Men’ or the modern ‘James Bond’, Daniel Craig, fuelling this trend. The spectrum of the exhibition ranges from the historical development of the tie, via its role in women’s wardrobe, as part of the professional uniform or in rock music, to the tie in films, in fine art and in literature. The exhibition brings together cultural-historical exhibits from the Swiss National Museum’s collection, international loans, literary texts, contemporary works of art as well as photographs and films from different epochs. A central place is given to the important textile archives of the Swiss National Museum, which include the most important tie fabric producers in the Zurich region, including Weisbrod-Zürrer, Robt. Schwarzenbach & Co., Gessner and Stehli Seiden. This collection of drawings, sketches, fabrics for ties, pattern books, and ties gives an impressive insight into the diversity of the motifs and technical innovations that are part of the history of the tie.
Following-up on Soie Pirate: The History and Fabric Designs of Abraham Ltd. (VSS, 2010) this new book also draws on the vast archives of the Swiss National Museum in Zürich. Switzerland’s, and in particular Zürich’s designers and manufacturers and traders of silks also supplied makers of ties in many countries. Coinciding with a major exhibition at the museum (September 2014 to January 2015) it features a wealth of images documenting the history of the neck tie, but also of designers’ and manufacturers’ sample collections, art works, and a photographic essay by Swiss photographer Walter Pfeiffer. Essays are contributed by international authors including scholars, fashion critics, and journalists.
