Viyella › About Viyella

The Brand History

Viyella has come a long way from pioneering fabric to creating an impeccable range of men's clothing from shirts to knitwear.

1784

Henry Hollins and four friends, all businessmen, purchased Pleasley Forge on the Nottinghamshire/Derbyshire borders and built a cotton spinning mill in order to enter the yarn trade. The company was amongst the first to recognise the potential of mechanism, inspired by the newly invented textile industry.

1840

At the age of 25, Henry's grandson, William joined the company. William Hollins becoming the future name of Viyella's holding company. The company`s success resulted from a business based upon two well equipped mills and after two major fires at the mills, William relaunched the business re-equipping the mill with steam driven machinery.

1850

In 1851 the company participated in the Great Exhibition displaying not only fine merino wools but cashmere, cotton and silk. At the exhibition, it was announced that the company was diversifying into sewing thread, knitting wools and mending yarns.

1860

By this time, the company was firmly established as the producer of high quality yarns and built it`s first dye works and bleach house. They believed that the high standards to which they aspired would only be achieved by controlling as many of the production stages as possible.

1890

Henry Ernest Hollins succeeded his late Uncle William. He doubled capacity by buying Via Gellia spinning mills near Matlock in Derbyshire, As a result, the company secured market dominance.

1891

In a strong position, the company set about a programme of research and development and a new cloth was soon developed by two brothers, James an Robert Sissions (employed by Hollins). They developed an innovative mix of 55% Merino wool and 45% long staple cotton.

1894

The Viyella name was registered, named after the valley in which the Via Gelia Mill was situated, Vi Jella. It rapidly became the most famous and coveted cloth in the world, renowned for its durability and softness and the remarkable way the fabric improved with age. It was the first fabric to be branded, a highly innovative idea at the time. Overseas markets particularly the English speaking countries were supplied with cloth for the first time and the very 'Englishness' of Viyella assured the company of international sales from the outset.

1900

The first garments to be made in the new cloth were men's shirts and night-shirts. Viyella was the world`s first registered fabric brand to be used on such products. Each manufacturer was required to put the Viyella brand name on the garments directly ansd selling them to retailers. The ranges included women's blouses, night-dresses and skirts as well as Viyella sheets. The brand also extended into history resulting in Hollins offering manufacturers an elite franchise to knit Viyella product.

1930

In the 1930's Deputy Chairman Edward Herbert was recognised as the natural progresser to the company`s helm. His administrative talents, modern management techniques and understanding of Viyella`s brand worth internationally were to make an enormous contribution in decades to come. Herbert developed the brands international strategy. He encouraged franchises to apply the brand in merchandise segments appropriate to their customers' desires and social characterstics - prophetic of today`s lifestyle marketing techniques.

1960

The company received the ultimate accolade and was awarded the Queens Royal Warrant. The separate fabric division sold fabrics to an expanding home sewing sector with the consumer buying fabric by the yard, as well as to garment manufacturers.

London Pride was established by Viyella as a wholesale brand selling womenswear shirts for the 'independent' shops using Viyella fabric.

1980

'Viyella Club' was launched in 1980 as co-ordinated wholesale range and the Viyella 'Limited Edition' collection was launched in half a dozen top retailers in 1981.

1984

The bicentennial of the Viyella brand, on October 5th 1984 saw a spectacular event staged at the Goldsmiths Hall in the brands honour. The BBC devoted prime time television to the occasion. The events theme of Viyella - now - then - forever was continued in a year long-world advertising campaign.