In this research study on the history of textiles, Nicole Schaeffert has investigated what are known as leno fabrics. This is technically complex mode of weaving, which came increasingly to be used in the years around the start of the twentieth century. Taking materials from sample books of the period as a starting point, on the one hand the author has analysed the structural principles of this form of weaving, on the other she was also concerned to uncover the role of leno thread in the fashion of the time. She has succeeded in an exemplary way in illuminating the complex web of relations between technology, fashion and the Zeitgeist which formed the background to the leno weave. At the same time the study successfully highlights the design potential of this style of weaving.