Mackintosh

History

It has been claimed that the fabric was invented by the surgeon James Syme, but then copied and patented by Charles Macintosh; Syme's method of creating the solvent from coal tar was published in Thomson's Annals of Philosophy in 1818; this paper also describes the dissolution of natural rubber in naphtha.

However, an exhaustive history of the invention of the Mackintosh was published by Schurer in 1952. The essence of Macintosh's process was the sandwiching of an impermeable layer of a solution of rubber in naphtha (derived from tar) between two layers of fabric. Syme did not propose the sandwich idea and his paper did not mention waterproofing. Waterproofing garments with rubber was an old idea, and was practised in pre-Columbian times by Aztecs, who impregnated fabric with latex. Later, French scientists made balloons gas-tight (and incidentally, impermeable) by impregnating fabric with rubber dissolved in turpentine, but this solvent was not satisfactory for making apparel.

In 1830 Macintosh's company merged with the clothing company of Thomas Hancock in Manchester. Hancock had also been experimenting with rubber coated fabrics since 1819. Production of rubberised coats soon spread all over the UK. Every kind of coat was produced with rubberized material including riding coats and coats supplied to the British Army, British railways, and UK police forces.

Early coats had problems with smell, stiffness, and a tendency to melt in hot weather, but Hancock further improved his waterproof fabrics, patenting a method for vulcanising rubber in 1843 which solved many of the problems.

Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, the company continued to make waterproof clothing. In 1925 the company was taken over by Dunlop Rubber.

Revival

In the mid-1990s the Mackintosh brand owner, Traditional Weatherwear, was on the verge of closing its factory in Cumbernauld near Glasgow. Around the turn of the 21st century, senior staff members acquired the company and established the traditional rubberised Mackintosh coat as an upmarket brand in its own right. The company collaborated with leading fashion houses such as Gucci, Hermès, Louis Vuitton, and Liberty. The coats became particularly popular with Japanese women, and the company won a Queen's Award for Enterprise in 2000 for its success in international trade. In December 2003 the company name was formally changed to Mackintosh.

In 2007, Mackintosh was bought by Tokyo firm Yagi Tsusho. With the backing of its parent company Mackintosh has continued to expand its reputation and marketing operations. In January 2011, the company opened its first fashion store in London.