How Sir William Henry Perkin’s Accidental Discovery of Colour Purple Changed the Fashion Industry Forever

As once said by a famous scientist Louis Pasteur, ‘Chance favours only the prepared mind’. This stands true when we talk about Sir William Henry Perkin. On March 12, Google honoured Sir William Henry Perkin with a doodle on his 180^th birthday. He is credited for discovering synthetic dye at a young age of 18 and to introduce brightly coloured clothing to the masses which has set the foundation for today’s chemical and pharmaceutical industries. His accidental discovery of substance mauveine or purple introduced a new trend into the fashion industry.

A marvellous coincidence in the history of science

London-born British chemist Sir William Henry Perkin gained momentum when his passion for chemistry led to an accidental discovery of the first aniline dye. At a young age of 15, his devotion to the subject got him admission into the Royal College of Chemistry. He then started assisting German chemist August von Hofmann. In 1856, Perkin started experimenting in synthesising quinine used for the treatment of malaria. He carried out several experiments using aniline, a waste product of coal tar which was produced in huge quantities and was readily available at low costs. Although he failed to synthesise quinine, one his reactions that he had added to aniline led to a mysterious dark goo. When he tried to wash it off, it left behind a vivid purple colour. He discovered that the colour transferred to a cloth with impeccable brilliance. Perkin had accidently invented the first synthetic dye. Perkin originally named his dye Tyrian purple but is now commonly known as mauve.

Fashion Revolution

In the spring of 1856, purple happened to be the most desirable colour of the time. Various shades of pinks, lilacs and purple were at the height of fashion industry. At that time all the dyes for colouring cloth were extracts of natural products which were highly expensive and difficult for the labourers to produce. But those colours were dull, and the prices were high. Being at the peak of post-industrial revolution, Perkin’s discovery happened to be at the appropriate time. The colour mauve became the rage as ladies of fashion adopted the new hue that resulted in a violent fashion craze. His discovery became readily accessible to the masses. His business associates even congratulated him for creating a popularity of his colour among the powerful class of community – the ladies. Even Queen Victoria wore a mauveine-dyed gown at the Royal Exhibition of 1862. Empress Eugenie, the wife of Napoleon III, was also one of the leading trendsetters in Europe.

Although the mauve mania didn’t last forever as other colours came in vogue, but Perkin had created something entirely new and that to through chemistry which was not seen as a money-making endeavour at the time. His discovery was everlasting. Perkin helped revolutionise the world of fashion by laying the foundation for the synthetic organic chemicals industry. Not only the upper class but also middle-class people could afford beautiful bright coloured calico without the fear of it getting faded after washing. In 1906, the Perkin Medal was established to commemorate the 50^th anniversary of the discovery. Today it is acknowledged as the highest honour in American industrial chemistry.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 12, 2018 03:43 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).