Blendlok™ Process:

fur in fabric
Sara Ludueña
FT626.502: Modern Textiles
Spring 2020
 “This is the great
opportunity of our times
for the textile industry to
take on a revivifying new
dimension—fur-in-fabric!”

Advertisement for “fur in

baric” from Unique Fibers,
Inc.
American Fabrics, 1948
Issue Number Six, p.39
American Fabrics, No. 6, 1948
“The New Dimension in Textiles”

Imagery and material samples (sandpaper and fur blend textile)from the multi-
page spread on the Blendlok process (American Fabrics, Number 8 (?), 1948)
The Blendlok process was
patented in 1945. Patent
would be in place for 17
years.

U.S. Patent Office

Official Gazette, Volume 578
September 1945
Was “fur blending” actually a
new thing in the 1940s?
• A 1923 WWD article mentions “fur
fabric” (Dukana); a 1940 WWD
article talks about fur blends.
• Both of these actually refer to
fabrics that are imitating real
fur, not blends of fur and other
fibers.

Top: “New Fur Fabric Called Dukana,” Women’s Wear,

August 24, 1923
Bottom: .“Marked Advance in Fur Blends,” Women’s
Wear Daily, April 23, 1940.
A New “Fur Fiber Fabric”,
thanks to Blendlok
• Natura, the fur blended fiber
produced by Unique Fibers,
Inc. with the Blendlok
process, debuted at a show of
dresses provided by Bonwit
Teller at the Hotel Waldorf-
Astoria (Oct. 31, 1944)

Top: “New Blended Fur Fiber Fabric Shown in

Bonwit Teller Dresses,” Women’s Wear Daily,
Nov 1, 1944.
Bottom: “Yarn Made of Furs Makes Debut Here,”
New York Times, Nov 1, 1944
Advertising for New Fur Blends
• Ads for new fur blends with trade
names like Natura and Minkasha
• Marketed initially for women’s
clothing and interiors

Left: Ad for Natura at Eaton’s, The

Ottawa Journal, Sep 4, 1946
Center: “’Minkasha,’ Newest Fur-and-
Wool Blend Introduced in Ready-to-Wear
Style Show,” Women’s Wear Daily, Nov
16, 1945.
Right: Ad for New fall fabrics
including Natura Knit a Cohama Fabric,
Lubbock Evening Journal, Sep 16, 1947
Targeting Men
• Initially many of the
ads for fur blends
were aimed at women
• However, ads aimed at
male consumers became
more common in
newspapers and other
publications
• This 1946 example was
in the program for the
first Los Angeles Rams
Home Game Ad for MINKASHA in program from the
first Los Angeles Rams Home Game,
1946 (National Museum of African
American History and Culture)
“A Dash of Mink for Men”
“The incomparable luxury of
precious furs… the wonderful
durability of pure wool—
blended together in McGregor
Natura Sportswear.

Top right: Ad, Fort Worth Star-

Telegram, Oct 30, 1946
Left: Ad for McGregor Natura, The Post-
Standard, Feb 2, 1946.
Bottom: Ad for Natura (by McGregor),
Ventura County Star-Free Press, June
26, 1946.
Cashmere Alternative
• One of the main selling
points of the fur blends was
as a better alternative to
cashmere
• “It has a cashmere-like hand
and is said to have a
hardiness of wear and
tensile strength not found
in cashmere.”
• Suppliers of textiles and “Fur Content Adds Interest to
garments varied from Bonwit New Rayons Shown by
Mallinson,” Women’s Wear
Teller to Mallinson Fabrics Daily, April 30, 1947.
Corp.
American Textiles ’48
Exhibition
• Met: Nov. 24, 1948-Jan. 2, 1949
• 200 fabrics produced by American
textile mills in 1948
• “highlighted the postwar strength of
the American textile industry”
• At least two fur blends from Unique
Fibers were submitted to the
exhibition; one was selected
Exhibition entry cards
Top: 128A: Unique Fibers, Inc., Hess-Goldsmith
– Fur Gabardine, Volume IV (Selected)
Bottom: 128C: Unique Fibers, Inc., Robaix-fur-
in-fabric #5080, Volume XI (Not selected)
End of Unique Fibers, Inc.
• Unique Fibers, Inc. was
liquidated in 1953
• Ads mentioning Blendlok
stopped appearing in
magazines and newspapers
in 1948, but fur blends
continued to be advertised
and written about

“New Fur Fiber Concern

Formed,” New York Times,
Feb 14, 1953.
Fur Blends after Unique
Fibers, Inc.
1955 (April): The Wool, Fur and Flammable Fabrics
Division of the FTC recommends use of the generic
term “fur fibers” in labeling fur blend fabrics.
1955 (May): Strathmore Wool-Fur Blends increase in
price
1966: President Johnson signed legislation that
imposed a tariff on wool-fur blends. Previously,
higher tariffs applied to pure wool and importers
got around paying by incorporating a small amount of
fur (often rabbit) into their textiles. This
legislation was seen as closing that loophole
Sources
Advertisement for Natura at McGregor, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Oct 30, 1946
Advertisement for Natura at McGregor, The Post-Standard, Feb 2, 1946.
Advertisement for Natura at McGregor, Ventura County Star-Free Press, June 26, 1946.
Advertisement for Natura at Eaton’s, The Ottawa Journal, Sep 4, 1946
Advertisement for New fall fabrics including Natura Knit a Cohama Fabric, Lubbock Evening Journal, Sep
16, 1947
“American Textiles ’48,” exhibition at Metropolitan Museum of Art (November 24, 1948-January 2, 1949),
Digital Collections:
https://libmma.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p15324coll10/id/211580/
“Fur Content Adds Interest to New Rayons Shown by Mallinson,” Women’s Wear Daily, April 30, 1947.
“Marked Advance in Fur Blends,” Women’s Wear Daily, April 23, 1940.
“’Minkasha,’ Newest Fur-and-Wool Blend Introduced in Ready-to-Wear Style Show,” Women’s Wear Daily, Nov
16, 1945.
National Museum of African American History and Culture
“New Blended Fur Fiber Fabric Shown in Bonwit Teller Dresses,” Women’s Wear Daily, Nov 1, 1944.
“New Fur Fabric Called Dukana,” Women’s Wear, August 24, 1923
Official Gazette, Volume 578, U.S. Patent Office (September 1945)
“Yarn Made of Furs Makes Debut Here,” New York Times, Nov 1, 1944