V&A
Red Black Striped Wool Knit Sweater
Roaring Twenties / Art Deco · 1920s · British
Designer
Richard Gray
Production
ready-to-wear
Material
knit wool
Culture
British
A fashion illustration depicts a bearded man wearing a horizontally striped knit sweater in bold red and black bands. The sweater features a crew neckline and appears to be made from medium-weight wool knit with consistent stripe widths throughout. The garment has a comfortable, relaxed fit that follows the body's natural lines without being tight or loose. The illustration style uses gouache and pencil techniques, creating strong contrast between the vibrant red stripes and deep black bands. The sweater represents the casual menswear that emerged in the 1920s as leisure activities became more prominent in middle-class life, moving away from formal Victorian dress codes toward more practical, comfortable clothing for everyday wear.
top/t-shirt/sweatshirtregular fitcrew neckhip length
Connected To
Technique·knittingMotif·stripe-band
LINEAGE90 years · cross-culture→ directed
Lineage: “1920s nautical sportswear”
The red and black striped sweater carries the bold geometric confidence of 1920s sportswear, when stripes meant modern movement and nautical chic was the height of sophistication. Fast-forward ninety years to that mint-and-white tank, and you see how the same visual DNA has been domesticated—the dramatic contrast softened to pastel whispers, the substantial wool knit flattened into breezy cotton jersey.
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