A new book has come from the prolific pen of Eric Musgrave, a British journalist, fashion writer and unique menswear expert who has been a mentor to me since I started at Sportswear International magazine—and who continues to guide me.
“Corduroy—The Story of a Timeless Fabric,” published by Batsford, will go on sale globally starting November 12, 2026. This truly interesting 260-page illustrated book unveils most of the secrets of this peculiar fabric, which sinks its roots deep into history, as Musgrave’s in-depth research brings to light.
The author has carried out significant research. Only a few publications have told the history of this material, and one only relies on information dating back no further than 1922. Musgrave’s book, instead, is the first to trace the international, multilayered story of corduroy back more than 250 years.
A favorite material in the countryside and a uniform for intellectuals from the 1700s through the 1970s and beyond, corduroy is a wardrobe staple. Browsing through archive images of this special material and reliving memories of menswear protagonists, including prestigious Savile Row tailors and international fashion brands like Ralph Lauren, the book’s entertaining and informative excursus spans different fashion genres, including workwear, sportswear and funky interpretations of its history. It also presents some of its most unconventional fans and style icons, such as Pablo Picasso, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Auguste Rodin, Bob Dylan, and David Bowie.
The volume firmly debunks a romantic but unfounded myth about this fabric. Its origins do not lay in the “cordes du roi,” or “ropes of the king”, referring to the uniforms of the huntsmen of French medieval kings. Musgrave’s research highlights some other, more plausible, theories. It first appeared as “corderoy”–and Corderoy is a surname that arrived in England with the Norman Conquest in 1066. People used it as a nickname for a proud man, deriving from the Old French “cuer de roi,” meaning “king’s heart”. Maybe in the north-west of England, around Manchester, a Mr. Corderoy developed the clever technique for weaving, then cutting the cloth. The mystery of the name’s origin will never be solved, but the use of “corderoy,” then “corduroy” as we know it today, became widespread in Great Britain, Europe and even in America from the 1770s onward. In other countries even today it goes by different names; in Germany and parts of Scandinavia, for instance, they call it Manchester.
Corduroy is versatile and rich in variants of weights, weaves, composition and uses, and the book also discloses its technical aspects and the secrets of its complex manufacturing techniques, along with the protagonists and weavers who made its history.
Throughout its long lifetime, both men and women have worn it, and it has often been in and out of fashion. More recently, it has it has seen far less use—to the point that only a few manufacturers still possess the know-how needed to bring it back to the market and make it the next big hit, a new trend many are eagerly awaiting, as corduroy still has so much to tell.
Eric Musgrave has written about fashion for over 40 years. He is an award-winning editor-in-chief of Drapers, the UK’s top fashion business weekly, and has also held senior roles at Men’s Wear, International Textiles in Amsterdam and Sportswear International in Milan. He was the launch editor of men’s style magazine For Him (now FHM). He is now a fashion business consultant and writes for many publications.
“Corduroy—The Story of a Timeless Fabric,” by Eric Musgrave. Publisher: Batsford. Format: Hardback. ISBN: 9781849949866. Publication date: November 12, 2026. Number of pages: 260. Number of images: 200. Price: £40.00