ITALICA · Discover

The Italian Lake Town Behind the World's Finest Silk

Five hundred years, one small lake.

1 · Origins

It started with mulberry trees

In the 1400s the Duke of Milan planted mulberry groves around Lake Como. The silkworms fed; the looms followed.

2 · Today

The town never stopped

Como still makes around 85% of Italy's silk — and prints for the great fashion houses.

3 · The feel

You can feel the difference

Real silk is cool on the skin, moves a half-second after you do, and catches light like water.

4 · The test

The ten-second test

A soft, deep sheen means silk. Flat and plastic means a synthetic pretending to be it.

ITALICA

Worth the wait

See the silk Maria brought back this season.

Shop the silk edit