Wakefield shirtmakers urged to share stories for exhibition

The stories of former workers at a Wakefield shirt manufacturer are being sought for an exhibition about how the company changed men’s fashion.

Clothing firm Double Two was founded by Isaak Donner and Frank Myer, who both fled war-torn Europe in 1940 to set up shop in the city.

The business, which is still in operation, became known worldwide for its attachable spare collars, the first man-made fiber garment and the first no-iron shirt.

Wakefield Museum curator John Whitaker said staff hoped to collect memorabilia from workers at the company, which at its peak employed 1,500 people in the city and a further 600 in the UK.

Mr Whitaker said such was the size of the workforce, the company had its own bus service which collected workers, many of them the wives and daughters of miners who lived in villages in the district.

He said: “Hopefully this will attract a lot of worker stories that we can collect.

“It’s been great so far. I have had so much feedback.

“A lot of people who worked there came to see him and we have a special night of celebration for them.

“We want to get the message out there and get a lot of people who worked there to get involved and give us all those memories.”

The business started in a small corner room on the fourth floor of a building in Kirkgate in the city centre.

By 1946, he had taken over the entire building, turning it into a vast shirt manufacturing facility that became a key player in the men’s shirt market.

After finding that most men returning from World War II had become accustomed to wearing loose-collared shirts rather than a stiff collar, Mr. Donner filed a patent that his family had previously developed of war.

The Double Two shirt got its name from its unique selling point – each shirt came with replaceable collars and cuffs to extend the life of the garment.

The company was also a pioneer in working with man-made fibres, and the exhibition features the world’s first synthetic shirt, created in Wakefield in 1950.

The display also charts the company’s fortunes as menswear trends changed throughout the 20th century.

Follow the evolution of materials and patterns through a series of shirts in different colors and bold patterns.

The event is part of Our Year, a year-long program of activities to celebrate the district’s heritage.