Gallery
“Models at recent showing of Rase Marie Reid bathing suits wear wigs of colored “Tynex” made by Meyer Jacoby & Son, New York,” DuPont Magazine 52, no. 6 (December 1958): 11.
What kind of society would
survive the melting away
of man-made materials,
and would we want to live in it?
—Susannah Handley, Nylon: The Story of a Fashion Revolution, 1999
Junichi Arai (Japanese, 1932–2017), Crinkled Sheer Fabric, ca. 1995, Polyester and nylon, Museum of Modern Art, Gift of the designer, 104.1996, Digital Image © The Museum of Modern Art/Licensed by scala / Art Resource, ny.
jsc Research & Development Production Enterprise Zvezda (Tomilino, Russia, founded 1952), Sokol-kv-2 rescue spacesuit worn by Helen Sharman, 1991, Rubberised polycaprolactam, nylon canvas, and anodised aluminium, Science Museum Group Collection, 2006-40/1, © The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum.
E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company (Wilmington, Delaware, founded 1802), Car suspended in nylon, 1954, 1972341_1832, Series vii, Box 7, Folder 10, DuPont Company Product Information photographs (Accession 1972.341), Audiovisual Collections and Digital Initiatives Department, Hagley Museum and Library, Wilmington, de 19807.
Hummingbird hot air balloon, 2018.
At the sight of each terminal form
(suitcase, brush, car-body, toy, fabric, tube, basin or paper),
the mind does not cease from considering
the original matter as an enigma.
This is because the quick-change artistry of plastic is absolute:
it can become buckets as well as jewels.
—Roland Barthes, Mythologies, 1957
E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company (Wilmington, Delaware, founded 1802), Sample of first nylon knitted tubing, 1935, Nylon, ScienceMuseum Group Collection, 1965–480, © The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum, London.
Dave Farnham (British), Heart in ribcage, Hodgkin lymphoma patient, 2013, 3d printed nylon, Wellcome Trust photograph by Ben Gilbert.
Ed Dunens, Climbers, Mount Arapiles, Victoria, Australia, 2017.
Double Diamond Halter Co., Inc. (Gallatin Gateway, Montana, founded 1985), nylon lariat, ca. 2017, Courtesy Double Diamond Halter Co., Inc.
Dogue de Bordeaux puppy chewing on a Nylabone, ca. 2020.
Okra’s the closest thing to nylon I’ve ever eaten.
—Robin Williams
Weco Products Company (Chicago, Illinois), Dr West’s ‘Miracle Tuft’ toothbrush, ca. 1940, Nylon and plastic (unidentified), Science Museum Group Collection, 2007-77, © The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum.
Velcro hair curler, 2015.
Dear Plastic
Nylon
Terylene
Made of atoms
By tender fingers
And determined heads
Of inventors
Tickling
Perfection
Plastic
Rayon
I was born aeons ago
Before anything human was known
My friends the alchemists
Told me everything was natural
And will always be that way
And possible to make gold from dirt
—Björk, Dear Plastic, 1989
Salvatore Ferragamo (Italian, 1898-1960) for Salvatore Ferragamo, Inc. (Italy, founded ca. 1920), Invisible Sandal, 1947, Sueded leather, leather, nylon thread, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Gift of Salvatore Ferragamo, Inc., ac1992.246.1, © 2023 Museum Associates / lacma. Licensed by Art Resource, ny.
Jacques Guillon (Designer, Canadian, 1922–2020), Modern Art of Canada, A.A. Sporting Goods Corporation (Manufacturer, Montreal, Quebec, Canada), Cord Chair, 1952, Laminated birch and walnut, nylon cord, Royal Ontario Museum, By transfer from Design Exchange, originally gift of Yabu Pushelberg, 2020.24.18, Courtesy of rom (Royal Ontario Museum), Toronto, Canada. ©rom.
