"The Souper Dress"

During the mid-1960s a fad for disposable paper dresses emerged, initiated by industrial manufacturers that traditionally operated outside the realm of fashion. These designs typically functioned as promotional vehicles, often to advertise paper products, and were commonly composed from nonwoven patented materials such as Kaycel and Dura-Weve. The populist trend was quickly adopted by high fashion: some designers created bespoke dresses for themed balls and events, while other youth-oriented boutiques, such as Paraphernalia in New York City, produced and sold a variety of their own paper fashions. The democracy of disposable clothing was unique, tapping into the zeitgeist of the mid to late 1960s and captivating public imagination, including that of the artist Andy Warhol, who notably produced several customized paper dresses of his own. While this “Souper” dress from Schreier’s collection is not one of Warhol’s designs, the Campbell Soup Company cleverly capitalized on public knowledge of the pop artist’s work to promote sales via mail-order campaign.