Garment Industry Overview

Pre-war Performance Clothing

Post-war Performance Clothing

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Natural Fibres

Everyone has seen photos of the original climbing uniform - tweed jackets and breeches, nailed boots, and most importantly, a pipe. This was the era before synthetic fabrics, but their natural equivalents in fact have many comparable high performance qualities.

Developments in technical clothing in the last couple of centuries are intertwined with military expeditions and the Industrial Revolution. Polar exploration such as the search for the North West Passage enabled the British Navy to access the region's indigenous clothing, adapted through centuries for the climate. As the front runners in the Industrial Revolution Britain became the first nation to enjoy leisure time, and consequently became the forebears of modern climbing.

George Mallory and Sandy Irvine are iconic patrons of this image. Since Mallory’s body was found on Everest in 1999, a combined research project by the Universities of Lancaster, Leeds, Southampton and Derby has enabled us to discover where the clothing worn on their 1924 Everest attempt would have enabled them to reach the summit.

One of the most interesting findings from the project was that Mallory’s clothing was lighter in weight than modern equivalents. His boots in particular were half the weight of a modern pair, and were expertly nailed to suit the terrain. His clothing was comprised of multiple layers of silk and wool garments, tailored to fit both him and over each other.

Silk and wool are both excellent at wicking moisture while retaining warmth. The crowning success, however, was Mallory’s cotton jacket. The research team point out that while climbers are often photographed in tweed jackets, this may have been a formality for posterity. Mallory was in fact wearing a Burberry ‘Everywear’ jacket and trousers. Burberry had been working on performance cotton fabrics since the mid nineteenth century. The densely woven cotton was tested and found to be very close in windproof terms to Pertex. The jacket also had articulated arms enabling an ice axe to be used in comfort. Photographs of Sandy Irvine show that he had attached zips to his jacket pockets, cutting edge technology for the time.

All in all, natural fibres when used well are pretty good stuff. The researchers concluded that Mallory was indeed suitably attired for the summit, although he did not have enough insulation for an emergency bivouac.

The limiting factor in making cotton windproof is the fineness of the fibres, and how densely they are woven together. In the Second World War, a similar principle was developed to make cotton waterproof. RAF pilots forced to ditch into the Arctic Ocean had low survival rates, and so a new type of clothing was desperately needed that could be worn in flight but would protect in the cold water. Ventile® cotton uses only the longest cotton fibres, which are densely woven together. When they come into contact with water the fibres expand, preventing any more water from penetrating the fabric. After the introduction of Ventile® uniforms, life expectancy in the Arctic waters increased from only a few minutes to around twenty.

Research continues today on natural fibres, for example the recent explosion of bamboo related products, and cotton jackets similar to Mallory's are still very popular in areas like Scandinavia with cold but dry climates.