Look Ouuttttttt It's Spider Goat! Part 2

As mentioned earlier, the American Museum of Natural History currently has on display a piece of woven fabric made entirely from the silk of golden orb spiders. I got to see it this weekend, and it's really awesome! Take a look:

 

 

Noooooooo

According to Fashion Week Daily, Conde Nast, the publisher of luxury titles Vogue and W, is cutting back on its super-high end stuff. Because of its limited appeal, W is only going to be published 6 times a year instead of monthly. And some industry insiders think Conde is going to buy Elle. Unlike Vogue and W, it has a broader appeal and, thanks to Project Runway, Stylista, and The City, broader exposure than the more upscale titles.

Look Ouuttttttt It's Spider Goat!

Fred R. Conrad/The New York Times

 This incredible piece of fabric pictured above looks like it could be any 11-foot long, beautifully woven piece of golden silk. But what if I told you that it's not made from spider's silk? Randy Kennedy profiled Simon Peers, a British art and textile historian living in Madagascar, and Nicholas Godley, a fashion designer also based in Madagascar. The somewhat unlikely pair met when Mr. Peers decided to investigate whether the native tales and colonial accounts of the female golden orb spider were true: that they could create a golden hued silk, and that its tensile strength was five to six times that of steel. Mr. Godley got involved when, one day, while visitng Mr. Peers's office, he noticed a weird metal spool, a reproduction of the kind that had been used to harvest the spider's silk a hundred years earlier. The two came up with a plan to produce the silk--as a designer and businessman, it was in Mr. Godley's best interest to find a long-lost local art, and as a scholar Mr. Peers was trying to revive Madagascar's weaving arts. Half a million dollars later, the team--with the help of local artisans--has made what the Natural History Museum claims is the first recorded piece of textile made entirely of spider silk. It is on display in the Grand Gallery until April.

But lest you think that spider's silk is just some quaint folksy craft, allow me to introduce you to the 21st century version: spider's goat milk, or Biosteel. Basically, this company called Nexia--working with the U.S. Army--has figured out a way to insert a spider nucleus into the egg of a goat. When the parent goats breed, the kids will look just like goats--except their milk will have the tensile strength of a spider's web. Nexia claims that this material will be biodegradable, stronger than steel, and lighter than a lot of petroleum-based polymers. The material could be used to create artificial human tissue, aircraft parts, tiny sutures for eye wounds, or bullet proof clothing. You guys, I really wish I was making this up, but no. The future is now.

Related:

Gah!

Check out this amazing video that The Cut posted, showing the creation of a Chanel dress from beginning to end. It's so breathtaking and inspiring to watch great artists at work, don't you agree?