Amazing golden cape made entirely from spider silk to go on show at V&A

 

This here embroidered golden cape is the work of 1.2 million spiders (and two men – Nicholas Godley and Simon Peers) and is about to go on public display at the Victoria & Albert museum.

Spiders?

Yes. Spiders.

Specifically female golden orb-weaver spiders from Madagascar. To get enough silk for the two garments (for there is a brocaded shawl as well as a cape) took nearly eight years but the results are pretty spectacular. That rich golden yellow is the actual colour of the spiders’ silk too.

You can find out more about the spider silk shawl in this video from the American Museum of Natural History below:

Apparently the fabric itself is incredibly light, very strong and feels ever so slightly sticky. Each ‘thread’ is composed of 96 strands of spider silk and the silk itself is harvested by harnessing the spiders to a silk extraction machine.

We love the little spiders embroidered onto the front panels too!

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