By Mariia Bublykova, Year 12
Muslin, the fabric cherished for centuries worldwide, worn by Mughal Emperors and French royalty, is now forever forgotten. Its unique properties made it the most desired type of textile in the world just two centuries ago, yet it remains unknown to us today. In this article, I will explore the history of muslin– the “fabric that no one knows how to make”- from its rise to its fall.
Muslin was always a precious fabric. Imported from Dhaka, modern-day Bangladesh, its records date back to the Ancient Greeks and Romans, with the first written record of it being by an Egyptian merchant around 2000 years ago. What made it so special, you may ask? The Dhaka muslin differs from all the other types of muslin and alternative fabrics ever made; it was almost perfectly transparent, so lightweight that it was often referred to as ‘baft-hawa’, literally translated as ‘woven air’. The effect of transparency, a result of the remarkable thinness of the thread, was achieved thanks to the elaborate 16-step production process. Unlike the cotton used in our clothes today—Gossypium hirsutum, which has long, slender fibers—Dhaka muslin was made from a rare local variety of cotton known as Phuti karpas. This type of cotton had short, easily friable fibers, which required much more work and care to spin into thread, but were the key factor in achieving the trademark thinness of the fabric. The thinner the thread, the higher the thread count of the fabric, making the final product lighter, softer, and more translucent. In comparison, in most fabrics made today, thread counts are between 40 and 80, meaning they contain about that number of crisscrossing threads per square inch of fabric. Dhaka Muslin, on the other hand, had thread counts ranging from from 800 to 1200– numbers we aren’t yet capable of recreating, even with the use of modern technology. The golden era of Dhaka muslin came to be during the Mughal empire, which spanned across the Indian subcontinent from its foundation in 1526 to the early 18th century. It was extremely popular in the royal family, and generally-speaking in the court. Up until today, we have quite a few portraits of the Mughal emperors and their wives, often depicted wearing muslin.
With the conquest of India by the British Empire, the fabric reached the European market, becoming the most desired type of textile in the French and British royal courts. While presented to the British public in 1851 at The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, a yard of Dhaka muslin ranged in price from £50-400, equivalent to roughly £7,000-56,000 today. In fact, at the time, a yard of muslin was 26 times more expensive than a yard of fine silk.
Muslin became subject to great debate in terms of fashion at the time, often causing scandals due to its light, transparent texture. One of the most famous examples is a portrait of the Queen of France, Marie Antoinette, in which she intentionally chose to wear a less elaborate style of clothing- a simple, white muslin gown- in an attempt to seem more in touch with her subjects. This choice, however, led to huge public outrage as the dress looked similar to a chemise, a style of undergarment at the time. As the French Revolution unfolded, for a while the demand for muslin fell, however, it experienced a new wave of popularity during the rise of the ‘Empire’ style in France (also known as the ‘Regency’ style in Britain). This new style of clothing, inspired by ancient Greek statues, featured high-waisted, light, and flowing silhouettes, replacing the wide skirts and tight corsets of the previous era. The style was popularised by Empress Josephine of France.
And yet despite its popularity, by the early 20th century Dhaka muslin had simply vanished, disappeared, and ultimately went extinct all over the world. How, you may ask? The answer might surprise some, but in fact, it was the Industrial Revolution that violently brought an end to the ancient craft of Dhaka muslin.
The British Empire started intervening into the process of manufacturing Dhaka muslin in the late 18th century, as the demand for the rare fabric grew. They pressured the weavers to produce higher volumes of the fabric at lower prices. Unable to keep up with the high demands, many weavers ended up in debt, forced to leave the industry forever to be able to earn enough money for a living. But the final blow came from competition. The East India Company had long documented industries they relied on, and muslin was no exception. Taking notice of the high demand for the luxury fabric, English textile baron Samuel Oldknow combined traditional techniques of producing muslin with the technological innovations brought about by the Industrial Revolution, creating a cheaper version of muslin, in England. By 1784, he had 1000 weavers working for him. Though the quality of the muslin was nowhere near the original – woven with ordinary cotton, and a significantly lower thread count– the damage was already done. The years of mistreatment of the local weavers in Dhaka was all too much, and the its muslin industry collapsed.
As years went by, the art of traditional muslin-making was forgotten, as there were no longer any weavers to uphold the craft. The Phuti karpas cotton, an essential component of muslin, was lost, believed to have gone extinct for decades.
And yet the hope is not gone for Dhaka muslin, as throughout the years there have been efforts to bring the plant back to life, and eventually rediscover the ancient techniques of the Dhaka muslin. Who knows? Maybe one day in the future, the Dhaka muslin will be once again worn and appreciated all over the world.
Bibliography
- https://oldknows.com/2016-09-05-a-very-short-history-of-muslin.html
- https://etiennefd.substack.com/p/the-industrial-revolution-that-almost
- https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20210316-the-legendary-fabric-that-no-one-knows-how-to-make
- https://www.transcend.org/tms/2022/06/the-targeted-death-and-extinction-of-muslin-by-british-imperialism/
