Lycra

Kaori O’Connor is a Research Fellow in the Department of Anthropology, University College London (UCL) in the United Kingdom. She holds four degrees in anthropology, worked on Vogue magazine, was the founding editor of the Fashion Guide to London, has written several books on fashion and shopping, designed hand knitwear and originated and presented fashion and lifestyle features for television, radio and national newspapers. She also works on the anthropology of food, for which she won the 2009 Sophie Coe Prize for her study of the Hawaiian Luau. Her most recent book is The English Breakfast: The Biography of a National Meal published by Kegan Paul.

• 1. Lycra, the Ethnographic Moment and the Anthropology of Stuff 2. Dupont: Culture, Kinship and Myth 3. Dupont’s Family of Fibers and the Birth of Lycra 4. Launching Lycra 5. Lycra, Aerobics and the Rise of the Legging 6. Another Ethnographic Moment

"[O'Connor] offers an intriguing, well-written study about the development of Lycra....This well-researched study draws on insights derived from ethnographic and archival evidence to describe the complex history of this specific fiber, including technology, science, corporate history, and branding and marketing strategies employed to make Lycra a successful product found in many garments. Readers interested in women's studies will appreciate the connection between this popular fiber and the changing view of women in America, including issues of gender, sexuality, aging, identity, and body image. This fascinating work will appeal to a wide range of interests as it touches on the dynamics between mass-produced commodities and the political, economic, and cultural factors that drive the production and consumption of 'stuff.' Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduate through professional readers."—CHOICE, C. B. Cannon, Savannah College of Art and Design, USA