Serycine

When silkworms (bombyx) begin to spin their cocoons, they secrete a silk thread almost one kilometer long. The glands on their head produce the enzyme serycin, which binds and stiffens the resulting strands. It is only upon contact with boiling water, during the cocoon unwinding process, that it takes on a soft and silky texture as it loses this natural “glue”.

This dress is the first dress in the history of silk to be woven entirely by silkworms. The Sérycine company has developed a process that allows objects to be created directly by the worms, by depriving them of the natural environment which they use to make cocoons. Through directed positioning, the worms coat surfaces which retain their final shape as a result of the enzyme.

The structures were designed in order to obtain this natural form of 3D printing. Once removed from the mold, the garment’s only seams are in a double row of zippers on fish leather, and the entire gown is adorned with 24-carat gold leaf affixed with a glue that was specially developed by the Atelier Thiery to avoid damaging the natural silk.

PARTNERS :

Fashion design and assembly: Atelier Anna-Barbara // Fish leather: Atlantic leather // Silkworm weaving: Maison Serycine // Zipper: YKK // Gold-leaf gilding: Atelier Thiery