the designers
Zika Ascher came to England from Prague in 1939 and in 1942 he established his own production company and silk-screen prit in London with his wife Lida.
During the 1940s the Aschers commissioned leading artists such as Matisse and Henry Moore to design a collection of headscarves to brighten up the dull post-war British wardrobe.
From 1946 Ascher supplied fabrics to the international fashion industry. They opened their own printworks and became known for lively screen printed designs. Ascher textiles, especially the artist designed ones, now feature regularly in exhibitions and at auction.
In 1948 he approached artists such as Moore and Henry Matisse to design prints. His own inventive approach to textiles acted as a catalyst for fashion designers of that time: in 1952 his highly original large-scale floral prints were used by Dior and Schiaparelli, and in 1957 his shaggy mohair inspired Castillo to crate huge enveloping coats.
the look
'Zika Ascher is an innovator, the man who introduced the mohair cult, and the flowered prints launched by Christian Dior.'