Zika ascher biography examples pdf

Zika Ascher 3 April — 5 September , born Zikmund Ascher and nicknamed " The Mad Silkman ", was a Czech textile businessman, artist and designer who became pre-eminent in the related fields of British textiles , art, and fashion. He created his own textile company, which made its name with experimental fabrics and scarves designed by famous contemporary artists.

Ascher was born in Prague in a family of rich Jewish textile businessmen. He excelled as young successful skiing champion and he began his career of textile businessman. The same year they moved to England , because Czechoslovakia was annexed by Germany.

Ascher family's burgeoning success in the textile trade, which launched Zika Ascher's early career as a textile wholesaler and retailer in Prague.

In Zika entered the British army. The Aschers had one son, Peter, who lives in United States. The designs were commissioned by Zika Ascher from to The book was published to coincide with an exhibition at the Henry Moore Foundation in , which later went on tour. The book was published by Lund Humphries , a leading publisher on British Art. There have been only four instances of production of the Henry Moore textiles and scarves by the Aschers in the 65 years since they were designed: The first was in the late s when Zika Ascher printed two designs for wall panels which had not previously been printed.

The second was when the Henry Moore Foundation asked the Aschers to reprint various curtain textiles that had faded over time at the artist's house at Perry Green. The third was a reprint of Moore scarves for the gift shop at Tate Modern , when they mounted a major retrospective of the artist's work in Christian Dior referred to Ascher as "Mr Rose Pompom" after Ascher designed a beautiful rose-printed fabric in the s, and used it extensively in the summer Haute Couture collection by Dior.

Apollo magazine London published a six-page monograph on Ascher in His work was displayed at the first major retrospective of Balenciaga's work at the Silk Museum in Lyons One of the first John Galliano collections, "Les Incroyables", featured many yards of Ascher's cream cheesecloth, drenched in water.