Russell Keller Laros

Russell Keller Laros (June 29, 1893 - November 12, 1955) was an American industrialist, innovator, and philanthropist who founded the R.K. Laros Textile Co.

Biography Born in Easton, Pennsylvania, Russell Keller Laros founded the R. K. Laros Silk Company in 1919 and the Laros Textile Company in 1933.

The R. K. Laros Silk Company became one of the top silk manufacturers in the country at the time and went on to produce silk lingerie fashions of the early to mid-20th century. At its peak, the R.K. Laros Silk Company was the largest thrower of silk in the country, employed more than 2,000 people and used more Japanese silk than any other company in the world. At the time, it was said that one out of every 12 pairs of silk stockings came from Laros, and the Laros data book became the go-to handbook for the silk throwing industry.

The Laros Textile Company manufactured and sold fine underthings known for style and smartness, as well as utility and service. Laros was the first slip manufacturer to acknowledge that the feminine figure is not uniformly proportional. One notable resultant Laros invention was the 1938 patented Dimensional Slip, designed to fit any female body type. Laros went on to sell eight million units in United States, and Laros garments were sold in high-end retailers in the United States, including Saks, Lord & Taylor, Marshall Field, Neiman Marcus, and Burdines.

Both the R.K. Laros Silk Company and the Laros Textiles company continued operating separately until the “silk freeze” in 1941 stopped the supply of silk for the throwing industry, and the R.K. Laros Silk Company ceased operation. Plavolex was used heavily on the front lines of the Korean war. Members of the Board of Trustees include a mix of Bethlehem community members and Laros Family members, including Laura Bennett Shelton, grand daughter-in-law of Russell K. Laros and wife of Laros grandson, the late Peter Laros Shelton (17), and Russell Keller Laros III.