Hand embroidered cape spun from the raw silk of Golden Orb spiders.
Englishman Simon Peers and his American partner Nicolas Godley's team worked eight years and 1.2 million spiders were used to complete the cape. It is the world largest, and only remaining, piece of cloth woven from spider silk, a technique that has not been seriously attempted since an exhibition in Paris in the 1900's from which no samples remain.
The spiders, which are approx. 5ins long only produce the distinctive golden thread once each year.
Lillian Bassman, fashion photographer and magazine art director famous for her high-contrast fashion photography died on Monday Feb.13th at her home in Manhattan aged 94.