Generation Paper: Fashion of the 1960s at MAD

Hallmark, Rompers, c. 1967. Printed 80% Cellulose and 20% cotton paper. Collection of Phoenix Art Museum, Promised gift of Kelly Ellman. Image © Phoenix Art Museum.

During the 1960s, paper dresses took the world by storm, when Scott Paper Company launched an ingenious marketing campaign—an early forerunner of viral marketing strategies—to promote “Dura-Weve,” the textile featured in their new disposable tableware line. With the idea that paper dresses were the future, other companies like Mars of Asheville joined the excitement and were soon selling 80,000 dresses per week

Generation Paper: Fashion of the 1960s running at the Museum of Arts and Design in New York (March 18–Aug. 27, 2023) explores the era’s short-lived phenomenon through more than 80 rare garments, accessories, and textiles crafted from disposable materials.