Golden Spider Silk Cape

The Golden Spider Silk Cape on display in the Victoria and Albert Museum

The Golden Spider Silk Cape is a unique textile woven from the silk of over 1.2 million Madagascar red-legged golden orb-weaver spiders (Trichonephila inaurata madagascariensis). It has a golden hue, which is a result of the natural colouration of the spider silk. It is often regarded as the rarest textile on Earth. The cape took approximately three years to produce, and its creation required a meticulous and labour-intensive process that combined both ancient textile techniques and modern innovation. The Golden Spider Silk Cape was first publicly displayed at the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) in London in 2012.

Creation

The idea of creating textiles from spider silk dates back to 19th-century records that documented the use of spider silk in fabric production. However, this art was largely forgotten over time due to the challenges of harvesting enough silk. In 2004, Simon Peers, a British entrepreneur, and Nicholas Godley, an American textile expert, began researching and experimenting with spider silk in an effort to revive the lost craft. Their work led to the creation of the cape.

The cape was made from the silk produced by the Madagascar golden orb-weaver spiders, a species that has the ability to produce long, strong threads of silk with a distinctive golden hue. Over a period of three years, the two men and a team of artisans collected silk from over 1.2 million spiders. This process involved individually harvesting silk from female spiders, a task that required both time and care to ensure the spiders were not harmed.

Silk harvesting

23,000 spiders yield around one ounce of silk on average. The silk was harvested from female golden orb-weaver spiders in the highlands of Madagascar. Each spider produced about 100 feet (30 meters) of silk per session, which took approximately five minutes to collect. After the silk was extracted, the spiders were released back into the wild to continue their natural life cycle, making the process sustainable.

To gather the necessary amount of silk, the harvesting was repeated millions of times, involving at least 70 workers. This labour-intensive method was necessary due to the relatively small quantity of silk a single spider produces. The silk was then processed and transported to a weaving workshop, where it would be transformed into a cape.

Weaving and embroidery

Once collected, the silk was brought to a weaving workshop, where skilled artisans worked to transform it into a cape. The main fabric was created by weaving 96 strands of spider silk, while the lining consisted of 48 strands.

A significant portion of the cape’s design involved intricate embroidery. The embroidery was done using unspun 24-strand silk, adding detail and complexity to the overall design. The weaving process was highly delicate, requiring precise handling to avoid breaking the fragile threads.

Exhibition

The Golden Silk Cape was first publicly showcased in 2012 at the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) in London, as part of an exhibition on extraordinary textiles. The cape was displayed alongside other rare fabrics.

The cape's exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum generated significant media attention and widespread acclaim from both art experts and the general public. It has since been displayed at various other museums and art galleries.

The cape also represents a revival of an ancient art form, as it brings back the tradition of spider silk weaving that had been lost over time. It has inspired further research into the potential applications of spider silk in various industries, including biomedical engineering and high-performance materials.

See also

• Spider silk
• Lotus silk
• Textile arts
• Sustainable fashion