THE STORY OF POLYCHROME TEXTILES

As one thank-you gift, the Slobodkina Foundation is offering scarves made from 1930s and 1940s polychrome silks with original Esphyr Slobodkina designs.

Polychrome is a textile printing technique pioneered by a Russian court painter. This innovative design process allowed for an unlimited number of colors to be printed simultaneously on silk and for intricate patterning. After the Russian Revolution, the patent for polychrome printing was purchased by an American and a polychrome factory was opened in Clifton, New Jersey in 1934. Esphyr Slobodkina worked at this factory where she designed the plates that would be turned into fabric patterns. The factory went bankrupt, but in 1937 the technique was revived by another factory where Slobodkina served as forelady and head designer. Polychrome was still an experimental method, but Slobodkina made great strides in refining and standardizing the technique. However, the process always involved an element of unpredictability and it never became completely tenable for mass market production. The second factory closed, so Slobodkina and a partner began a business of their own that made only small, hand-produced articles such as scarves and ties. After this partnership fell apart, Slobodkina retained the secret formula to the polychrome process and continued to produced clothing on her own and her designs were picked up by Manhattan boutiques. Encouraged by the demand for her work, Slobodkina expanded production and established the Art Development Company, but this business could not survive the war when supplies of silk became scarce. Fortunately, Slobodkina's original designs and silk fabrics have been preserved.