Renowned for its unrivaled and timeless elegance, silk has served to inspire men and women since time immemorial. A natural protein fibre, silk is obtained from cocoons made by the larvae of the Bombyx mori, commonly known as the mulberry silkworm. There are several different types of silk textile fabrics: brocade, crêpe, faille, foulard, lampas, pongee, rep, satin, shantung, surah, taffeta, tussah, gauze, jersey, muslin, poplin, twill.

Silk emerges in China, around 2500 B.C. Highly jealous of its extremely complex manufacturing techniques, Imperial China does all it can to keep its trade secrets: only the fabric was ever allowed to leave the Empire. An imperial decree condemned to torture and death whomever would betray the secrets to breeding silkworms. This undoubtedly explains the 3000 years of Chinese exclusivity… However, the art of making silk was progressively transmitted to other civilizations, thanks to spies, looters and merchants. It seems that the coveted secret was irrevocably uncovered around the year 560 A.D.

Fated for travel

The Silk Road, a vast network of commercial routes that weaved from Xi’an (China) to Antioch (Syria), allowed silk to travel between Asia and Europe. Brought to Western Europe near the end of the Middle Ages, silk production is industrialized in the 19th century. Production sharply declines at that time, however, due to strong competition from modern fibres (such as nylon), to evolution of clothing customs in Europe, to the expansion of some Asian countries and to epidemic diseases raging in France at that time. Silk production has now reverted back to being essentially Asian.