When artificial silk (Kunstseide), or rayon, as it became known after 1924, entered the public marketplace and imagination it was nothing short of revolutionary. Hailed as a "gift of the modern age," and a technological marvel, rayon heralded all that was new and possible. With its democratizing effect on clothing, its potential for blurring class lines, and its freeing effect on women's work, movement, and sexuality, rayon was emblematic to contemporaries of modernity. How this newly created fiber would intersect with the cultural preoccupations of Germany during the interwar period when its society was rocked by inflation, depression, and political instability is the subject of this study. This thesis draws from a range of cultural sources including advertising featured in the illustrated press, newspaper articles and commentary, manufacturers' marketing materials, and a popular work of contemporary fiction to argue that a novel and controversial synthetic fabric helped to shape new gender and class identities during the "golden twenties."