‘What do Farrah Fawcett, a deep sea diver, a circus elephant, and a socialite have in common?’
According to society newspaper columnist ‘Tere’ in 1982 the answer was Whiting & Davis mesh. I recently wrote about the life and work of Bobby Breslau. I came across some of his work for Whiting & Davis; makers of mesh bags and accessories as well as the industrial mesh used for welding and heavy production. Bobby was one of several illustrious designers who worked with the brand, in particular during its disco regeneration.
Whiting & Davis have been making mesh bags since 1896; in the 1930s both Paul Poiret and Elsa Schiaparelli lent their talents to designing for the brand. The ladylike bags were a genteel staple; evolving from the distinctive framed twenties/ thirties flat pouch shape to become boxier and more structured through the interwar period and fifties. Jane Russell wore a shimmering sheath of Whiting & Davis mesh in the film Macau in 1952 complete with golden age Hollywood bullet bra and bulletproof hair. As the hippy luxe look became more prominent in the late sixties, the hard edges and stiff corners looked out of step and dated. In 1967 the designer Frances Denney sold a fabulous mod-styled dress using Whiting and Davis mesh, but it was the designs of Giorgio di Sant’ Angelo, master of the fantasy bohemian look that would captivate the fashion world. The vest and hooded dress worn by Twiggy in her Bert Stern shoot for October 1967 Vogue were modern designs taking full advantage of the mesh’s unique and lustrous drape. ‘There’s a bold line between yesterday’s mesh and beaded bags and today’s interpretation. The antique bags that were serious then are fun now.’
Daily Giorgio was making mesh modern. He also branched out into jewellery and scarves. Next to be brought to design for Whiting & Davis was Leo Narducci, who worked with Whiting and Davis from around 1975 to 1977. He seems to be the only designer who garnered his own name on the label. Leo was designing at the same time as Bobby Breslau; due to their different customer bases and styles, it makes me wonder if Whiting & Davis was trying to avoid being pigeonholed.
A major publicity boost came from Elsa Peretti in 1975, who was already working with Halston and Tiffany. Inspired by the delicate gold mesh she had seen in Jaipur she reached out to her friend Samuel Beizer; director of the jewellery department at New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology. Beizer sourced Whiting and Davis machines that had been unused for 90 years, as well as a retired technician to operate them. Later that year Halston showed the resulting mesh bra in his Autumn runway show. Tiffany was swamped with calls from people dying to get a gold bra,” Elsa Peretti recalled after the show. The Nando and Elsa Peretti Foundation. She later added ‘Sometimes it’s great to feel ‘una piccola garibaldina’. Elsa Peretti, Fifteen of my Fifty with Tiffany & Co. exhibition catalogue, F.I.T., New York 1990.
Made from gold and silver, Elsa’s pieces were for the select few with deep pockets and small cup sizes. Similarly, the items designed by Stephen Burrows using Whiting & Davis in 1977, which were made up by Anthony Ferrera, were small-run limited editions. In order to get the gilded disco glamour to the mainstream Whiting & Davis brought in Bobby Breslau in 1976. The combination of his unstructured shapes and the glittery mesh was an instant winner. Bobby’s pieces for the company featured multiple times in Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, and Women’s Wear Daily.
Confusingly, Whiting & Davis had another designer they promoted at this time; Brazilian Richard Pless is name checked in several publications at the same time Bobby was designing.
Both names disappear when Anthony Ferrera became the design titan at Whiting & Davis. The series of tops that featured in a 1981 WWD (pictured) caused such a run of orders Whiting & Davis had to issue an apology for the ensuing shortage. The company is still making mesh of all kinds, but if it hasn’t seen the light of a disco ball at night I’m not interested.
Sources:
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