The Visual Arts Data Service (VADS) and the London College of Fashion
announced a collaboration today that will see the photographic archives
of three important cosmetics companies made accessible online for the
first time.
The archives of Gala, Miner's and Crystal, three prominent cosmetics
companies operating during and after the Second World War, are held at
London College of Fashion and have been digitised and made freely
accessible through the VADS website.
The archives are a valuable resource for the study of the history of
cosmetics, advertising photography, fashion promotion and women in the
Second World War.
During the War when silk was needed for parachutes and stockings
disappeared from the shops, Miner's had particular success with its leg
make-up, Miners Liquid Stockings, which many women used to paint their
legs and even drew black lines down the back of their legs to simulate
the seams. Gala of London was also the first company to introduce lip
stick in a tube when they introduced their lipline in 1957.
Katherine Baird, Manager of Archives and Special Collections at the
London College of Fashion said: "The history of cosmetics is a subject
area poorly served by archives to date, and this archive is a valuable
addition."
"The war and immediate aftermath, was an important period for the
development of package design and also for the development of women's
economic independence and consequently their image. The photographs in
this collection provide a rich resource charting the development of
designs and promotion of cosmetic products and images of women using them."
Leigh Garrett, Director of VADS, said "We are delighted to have worked
with London College of Fashion to make these unique archives accessible
to a wider learning community than ever before."
"Through our partnerships with university and museum collections across
the UK, VADS has already made a wide range of visual arts image
collections available online freely for educational use. This latest
project will bring another valuable collection to wider recognition and
use by scholars, researchers and students as well as members of the public."
The three cosmetics archives have been digitised by the London College
of Fashion and made available online through the 'Enhancing VADS'
project, funded as part of the Enriching Digital Resources programme
from JISC.
The collection is available at http://www.vads.ac.uk/collections/LCFGALA
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