The Emperor's Secret Worm
Can a Worm be the origin of the fanciest Fashion fabric? Chinese Emperors though so....
The origin of Silk is not clear: what we know, even if it wasn't really an Empress invention as the Chinese tradition tells, is that silk was used by Chinese Emperors and high Court Dignitaries since year 3000 Before Christ...
Chinese Emperors tried to maintain the secret of Silk for a long time but Romans already appreciated the beauty of this fabric, even if they weren't sure what was the origin of it, animal or vegetable, and established a consistent commerce along the route that later would have been called "The Silk Road".
The beginning of silk culture in Europe is anyway around 500 A.D. when two Byzantine Monks smuggled some Silk Larvae to Constantinople and from that moment the culture spread al over Sacred Roman Empire and Italy gained a preeminent role, in the beginning in Sicily and later all over the Peninsula.
One of the principal cities where the culture was widespread was Como, when his Prince, called Lodovico "The Moor"from the local name of the plant that Silkworm eats, obliged his countrymen to
grow the plant of Mulberry.
Como is now considered the Italian "Capital" of Silk and, even if now the production of crude silk is almost completely in East Asia, the proximity to Milan, the Italian Fashion City, and the long tradition of Silk processing, preserved the manufacture heritage.
But that's something more... something here at Ariel's Vibes we consider the most... Since 2019 Italy has signed a Cruelty Free regulation on Silk that allows brads to certify as "biological" their silk, monitoring the production from the chrysalis nutrition to the preservation of Silkworm, that in traditional production was killed. Again, as we wrote several times, this is a win win solution, not only, obviously, for the silkworms, but also for the entrepreneurs, because a "saved" silkworm will be able to maintain the most beautiful Miracle on the Universe which is the Cycle of Life.
Our Brand Urban Kimono is also taking advantage of its position in Milan, searching for the finest Italian excess stock fabrics from haute couture collections, this small artisanal brand can make every piece unique, affordable and sustainable.
The Philosophy behind Urban Kimono is Lightness (rather than weight), slowness (rather than speed and hurry) and consistency (rather than inconsistency and liquidness) as the most sophisticated expressions of human beauty, grace and elegance, feeding the unconscious aspiration of humankind towards immortality.
And what better than Silk can express this aspiration? Check our Urban Kimono Collection!
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