Posts tagged Fashion

What is beauty, and how is it measured? For this garment, it’s measured in a astonishing silk cape made out of delicate gold filament spider silk.The silk was extracted from more than 1 million rare spiders native to Madagascar. Borrowing a phrase from Rachel Zoe’s vernacular ‘I die’.

The process of making this garment took over four years, and countless hours of the tedious process of creating a garment made out of spider silk. Dedication such as this is not for the faint hearted. So, what does it feel like to wear a this innovation to fashion? Apparently, it feels like nothing at all. Spider silk is virtually weightless, it is compared to wearing the closest thing to a invisibility cloak, but is said to be as strong as Kevlar.

Here’s essentially how the process works, according to The Guardian : ” The spider is clamped by a sheet of wood with a half-moon aperture for its abdomen. In each hand-powered contraption are 24 females (they are always female). Handlers pull and spool strands from each spider’s multiple spinnerets. A gossamer thread is made from 96 twisted strands.”

After the whole thing is over, the spiders are released making it seem fairly humane.

The cloak is on display at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, for both fashion and arachnology enthusiasts alike. Seems like a win-win  for all involved, except for PETA.

Of course, when there is anything to do with animals/insects and fashion PETA always has something to say (or scream) about. According to Shine.com, In an emailed statement, PETA spokesperson Nicole Deo compared the process to “factory farming” and called out the museum for supporting it.

“[Using] silk that the spiders would normally have used to catch insects to feed themselves is as bizarre and unappealing as it is anti-environmental,” writes Deo, who didn’t say whether the organization are plans to protest the museum.

PETA really needs to get over themselves and realize that if artists/designers can make something beautiful, without harming the animal/insect, by taking from a natural resource rather then relying on someone in a lab to make a fabric and put unnecessary toxins in the air.
Which could in time not only hurt humans, but also the animals/insects PETA is trying to protect. My Advice for PETA: Pick your battles!