History of Silk
Dupioni Silk is a subtype of the famous mulberry silk. The history of silk reaches back several thousand years to the time of the Chinese dynasties.
According to the legend, the young female Chinese emperor
Si Ling Chi had discovered a worm on a tree that was
enveloping itself into a fine silky filament. Very delighted about
this, the emperor had
the idea to have itself being enveloped by a material
that would be so soft and tender. Following her wish, the production
of silk started. The
art unwind the silk filament from the cocoon was kept
as a top secret in China throughout many thousands of years. Smugglers
of silk fabrics
or cocoons were sentenced to death. Even once the Silk
Road connected China with India, Europe and Arabia, this art was still
a best kept secret.
Finally, around 200 BC the silk export started from China
to India up to Europe, especially to Italy. In Roma it
was sold for high prices, exchanged against gold.
Silk worms could finally be exported from China around
the 6th century. In the following centuries worms were
bred in Europe itself, specifically in Italy, later even more in France
(17th century).
Even in Germany and in Switzerland there were silk breeds
and silk fabric productions.
Today, China has still the highest silk production in the world. India, Thailand, Japan and Brazil are following. It is estimated that the silk production amounts about 1% of the overall fiber production in the world.