CMU School of Drama


Friday, January 05, 2024

The Man Who Invented Fifteen Hundred Necktie Knots

The New Yorker: Boris Mocka believes that, at one point, he had invented more necktie knots than anyone else on the planet—so many that he started to call himself a “tieknotologist.” Most people who wear ties are familiar with the four-in-hand knot, and perhaps the Windsor and the half-Windsor. But there are many others: the Plattsburgh, the Cavendish, the Hanover.

1 comment:

Helen Maleeny said...

This is such a fascinating read! I love hearing about what people are passionate about, and how they got there, and Boris Mocka’s tie-tying niche is surprisingly cool. I don’t know how to tie a tie very well myself, but as I am interested in costume design and fashion history, learning more in this article about the history of ties and their knots, and the names of both was super cool. And Mocka’s personal journey to getting interested in knot tying was so incredible to read as well. It is so interesting how you can jump around so many paths in life to be led to one that you find you really love - it makes me intrigued reading this to look into the videos he made and some of the more complex and beautiful knots that he invented. Fifteen hundred is crazy! I would’ve thought before reading this that that would’ve been mathematically impossible of a sort, as often one thinks of ties to look rather the same in the few common ways you may tie one. However now I know there are countless other styles that I could also perhaps use in future designs.