Wednesday, June 8, 2016

Golden Orb Spider Silk Garment - Michaela


          A gown was made from the silk of over one million spiders! It took four years, and was the idea of an Englishman. I feel really weird about the idea that a British person is the one that’s done this, it seems both like theft of the spider silk that truly belongs to Madagascar, and some elements of cultural appropriation, given that much of the allure of this garment is that it is “exotic”. The design of the garment is definitely not british inspired, and neither is the pattern of the embroidery. This also likely exploited the labor of all the people who spent years collecting and refining spider silk. I’d love to discuss this in class.  


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2090608/Reviving-lost-tradition-Cape-silk-million-spiders-unveiled-new-exhibition.html

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