Gannex

Gannex is a waterproof fabric composed of an outer layer of nylon and an inner layer of wool with air between them and was invented in 1951 by Joseph Kagan, a British industrialist and the founder of Kagan Textiles, of Elland, which made raincoats. Gannex raincoats were worn by Prime Minister Harold Wilson.

Harold Wilson's raincoat displayed in Scilly Isles museum 2014

After Wilson, then the opposition trade spokesman, wore a Gannex coat on a world tour in 1956, the raincoats became fashion icons, and were worn by world leaders such as Lyndon Johnson, Mao Zedong, and Nikita Khrushchev, as well as by Queen Elizabeth, the Duke of Edinburgh, and the royal corgis.[1] In addition they were worn by Arctic and Antarctic explorers, Himalayan climbers, the armed services, and police forces in Britain and Canada. The success of the fabric made Kagan a multi-millionaire.

The former mill occupied by the company was demolished in 2010.[2]

Gannex Mills at Elland, West Yorkshire

References

  1. Comfort, Nicholas (2012). Surrender How British industry gave up the ghost 1952-2012. New York: Biteback Publishing. ISBN 9781849543163.
  2. "A landmark is vanishing". Halifax Courier, 22 December 2010.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.