Artist Info
Mars of Asheville
Asheville, North Carolina, U.S.A.
Mars of Asheville, or Mars Hosiery of Asheville, was co-owned by Bob Bayer and his wife Audrey ("Audie") at the time of the paper dress craze. Audie is the daughter of Morry Bard, who opened Mars Hosiery Manufacturing in West Asheville in the 1940s. They original produced hosiery with seams running up the back before becoming the first company in the United States to produce pantyhose. While studying at Cornell University, Audie met Bob. Bob and Audie married and moved back to Asheville, where Bob became an engineer in the company.
Seeing that the hosiery business was declining, Bob decided to turn his attention to disposable goods. The company first started making disposable undershorts for army soldiers to wear in Vietnam. This venture was unsuccessful as the material was not fully developed and caused chafing. Setting a goal to get into the medical market, they knew they needed to get into the fashion world first to "create a buzz".
Scott's entrance into the market promoted Mars into paper dresses. Audie helped design the dresses borrowing from wallpaper designs.
