Spider silk: the bullet-stopping, plane-catching fabric that’s got the fashion world spinning
Appearing in parkas, capes, ties and even a dress by Stella McCartney, spider silk can be used to make material tougher than Kevlar – but harvesting it can be a problem, what with the creatures’ tendency to eat each other
If you have ever walked into the web of a golden orb-weaver while hiking on Lantau Island, you may have noticed a stiff resistance. As the tension gives, the snap and the stain that may show on your shirt prove that spider silk can be no pushover.
In fact, spider silk can be used to make material tougher than Kevlar, the bulletproof jacket fabric, and just about all other known fibres besides.
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A spider web “made of pencil-thick, spider-silk fibres can catch a fully loaded Jumbo Jet Boeing 747 with a weight of 380 tonnes,” states biotech firm Amsilk.
High-performance textile firms are starting to exploit the substance. The North Face teamed up with Tokyo-based Spiber to create a biotech concept jacket called the Moon Parka. Priced at US$1,000, the parka is created from genetically engineered silk-protein DNA sequences which researchers insert into bacteria that are then fed sugar. The extraordinary item has a luminous “moon gold” sheen ascribed to the hue of the orb-weaver’s silk on which the material is based.
Spiber’s most visible rival in the spider-silk space is California-based start-up Bolt Threads, which works its magic with lab-made, protein-based spider yarn.