LOTUS SILK
The lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) is not only the national flower of India, but also the source of one of the rarest silks on Earth. Below the pastel-pink petals of this water-dwelling plant is a stem filled with silk-like fibres. Lotus silk is one of the rarest and most expensive fabrics in the world due to the painstakingly delicate process required to extract it. By hand, stems are snapped and twisted to expose the fibres. There are only around 30 fibres per plant. These are drawn out, rolled by hand and left to dry. Silk harvesting has to be done within 24 hours while the stem is still wet and silk can be extracted. This is a time-consuming process that produces a small amount of very delicate silk, hence its high value. A scarf around 1.7 metres long and 30 centimetres wide requires the silk from more than 9,000 lotus stems.