Advertising is known to use subliminal messaging, but this cloth banner advertisement from our collection, tells the incredible story of a brand that not only shaped fashion trends but allegedly paved the way for Japan’s invasion of China in 1937 with a secret code.
Cut in the shape of a butterfly - "The cloth that never fades". The blue dye was discovered in 1901 by German chemical manufacturer BASF (later shareholder of the IG Farben conglomerate). BASF had been active in China since 1885 and Indanthrene dye immediately won great popularity among Chinese women who began to wear qipao dresses of such bright blue cotton fabric.