Throughout its history the Worshipful Company of Glovers has always stayed close to the business of glovemaking. Initially this related to manufacturing but this was always closely allied to design, distribution, sale and consumption.
A glove from Tutankhamun's Tomb
The craft of making gloves goes back millennia and originated as a matter of protection from temperature or shocks when working.
Some of the oldest known gloves still surviving were buried with King Tutankhamun in 1,341BC, the finest of which are a pair of embroidered linen gloves that it is thought he used for driving a chariot.
Tutankhamun embodied the three roles of the head of State, the Church and the Judiciary in all of which gloves have played a major role in signifying authority and status.
Although diminished somewhat these ceremonial aspects carry on to this day. Over the centuries members of the Court that surrounded heads of state took to wearing gloves as a matter of fashion and display creating many fine styles. As the middle classes grew and society became wealthier fashion, or “dress”, gloves were routinely worn by a wide section of the population.
Today more gloves than ever are consumed in the U.K. but their nature has changed. The AIDS crisis and COVID-19 pandemic created markets for millions of specialist and disposable gloves in the healthcare sector. Wider concern over health and safety has made work gloves a very large sector many of which require highly technical solutions. This covers areas as diverse as constructing wind turbines to handling foodstuffs, as well as a wide variety of military gloves. In another highly technical area we now consider the gloving sector to also include some work to improve feel and dexterity with artificial limbs.
Climate change and the mass use of air-conditioned automobiles have played a part in reducing demand for traditional dress gloves, but the general leisure sector remains strong. We now consider it as including fashion gloves as well as those bought for dog walking, rambling, gardening and even some do-it-yourself tasks. Pop stars and some celebrities have kept the fashion sector alive and the whole area of sports has also become a busy one for gloves.
Since the historic fashion glove sector is now only a small part of the glove business it has become classed as a threatened craft. Since we do not want to lose the skills involved this is an area being addressed by the Livery.
With steady annual growth the British gloving industry continues to meet today's challenges to offer protection with dexterity in complex and difficult conditions. The Worshipful Company of Glovers of London is proud to be the cheerleader and champion of this industry.
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