Red Carpet Silk: Remembering the Little Guy on Oscar Night

No silk worms were harmed in the making of at least one dress hitting the red carpet tonight.

Suzy Amis, wife of Avatar director James Cameron, held a competition for designers to come up with a green dress for the red carpet. The winning design, by Jillian Granz, a senior from Michigan State University's apparel and textile program, is made from Ahisma, or peace silk.

People don't often think of silk as animal product, largely because there's not much empathy, or sympathy, out there for insects. Also, silk comes from the cocoon, which is shed by the moths when they emerge. Except, like any other animal industry, producers don't want to wait for nature to create the goods on her own terms.

The silk worm needs to make a hole in the cocoon in order to emerge in its new-and-improved moth form. But that hole damages part of the cocoon — and the profits — of silk farmers, so before the silk worms can get that far, they're either gassed, steamed, or boiled to death within their cozy shells. The only silk worms allowed to play out their cycle are those designated to be the breeders to keep the industry going.

Peace silk simply allows the silk worm to complete the cycle. It's nicknamed "vegetarian silk" because the insects aren't killed in the process, but much of the vegan community still shuns the material because it's another species being farmed for human benefit.

Scientists are working on artificially producing silk, so maybe we'll get to see that animal-free option on the red carpet in the future.

Photo credit: Kuebi