Spring-Summer 2024 heralds a growing interest in refined yarns and knits in which silk will have an important place with all its variations and precious characteristics. Among the best-known yarns, those with a bright, delicate and light appearance win in particular, where the fiber expresses all its excellence, but also associated with other top-of-the-range fibers.
As we know, silk is a protein animal fibre, one of the few produced in nature in the form of filaments. Once the cocoon is complete, the larvae transform into chrysalises, pierce the cocoon and make their way through to continue living as butterflies. But what is needed for the life cycle of Bombyx mori is less good for the silk industry which must instead obtain the continuous filament. The chrysalises are thus suffocated with the action of heat and the cocoons are then macerated in boiling water to free the filament from the coating sericin and make the thread shiny and continuous.
MULBERRY silk stands out, obtained from the cocoons of larvae raised in captivity and fed on mulberry leaves. This type of silk is considered the most valuable, thanks to its very fine and regular, smooth and round filaments, obtained thanks to the monitored and controlled process.
TUSSAH silk, on the other hand, is a type of silk made from caterpillar cocoons that live in the wild and feed on oak and juniper. Because the silkworm is not reared in a controlled environment, the moth hatches from the cocoon and disrupts the filament length, resulting in shorter, coarser fibers and irregularly textured, less shiny yarns.
The production waste is also recovered from the silk: the BOURETTE, characterized by short fibers that are carded and transformed into irregular and opaque threads, with a typical buttoned appearance.
Without forgetting the SHAPPE silk which is produced from damaged cocoons, where it is not possible to have continuous filament and which is characterized by its opacity and soft consistency.
The step towards blended silk yarns, to expand the offer by opening up to new sectors of use was short, combining it with cotton for a sporty effect, with wool and cashmere for all seasons, with viscose to accentuate its fluidity.
Convinced that the path of sustainability is also synonymous with the new luxury, the range of yarns is now enriched with CRUELTY FREE worsted silk, with ultra-lightweight yarns of inimitable finesse. Or from carded ribbons, torn to variable lengths, to be mixed with other fibers as well. This product does not provide for the death of bugs. It is in fact obtained by collecting what remains of the cocoons after the butterflies are born. Not a vegan product, but “animal friendly” yarns, natural and certified organic.
Concept by Elementi Moda
