A heavy, lustrous silk fabric with a firm hand and subtle ribbed texture, traditionally used for formal wear and bridal gowns.
Named after 'The Mikado', Gilbert and Sullivan's 1885 operetta that sparked Victorian fascination with Japanese culture. The fabric was developed to capture the essence of Japanese silk weaving for Western formal wear.
Mikado silk was created during the height of Japonisme – the Victorian obsession with all things Japanese! While not actually from Japan, this fabric perfectly captured the Western imagination of what Japanese silk should feel like: substantial, lustrous, and worthy of an emperor.
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