Silk is a high quality material with great versatility and durability if cared for properly. It is soft and irresistible to the touch and also highly breathable. That means it is relatively cool in summer and warm in winter compared to inferior synthetic materials. This in turn means that silk suits are synonymous with quality and versatility.

Silk's fiber structure is triangular like a prism with rounded corners, so light is refracted at different angles giving it a shiny appearance. The resulting shimmering fineness and quality is what gives silk its lasting allure.

Silk is a fine natural protein fiber produced by mulberry silkworms known by the Latin name Bombyx mori. Technically, silkworms are actually caterpillars, not worms. When they are about 35 days old, the caterpillars begin producing a very fine silk thread to create their cocoons, which in turn are harvested and woven to make this fine and treasured natural fabric. The end result of many hours of work is your fine silk suit! The practice of rearing silkworms in captivity is known as sericulture.

A single thread produced by a silkworm is too fine for commercial textile production. So in practice, these super fine strands are woven together to form a single strong thread - typically from 3 to ten strands are combined in this way. These strong threads are then woven into fabric and the process of making suits begins.

Silk has a long history and tradition going back around 5,000 years in ancient China, where it was a highly prized luxury, worn by emperors, and the most precious trading item of them all. It was considered to be so fabulous and sought after that it gave rise to the legendary Silk Road, where silk was traded across the world on trails and roads spanning 5,000 miles (8,000km).

Legend has it that the lucrative secret of producing silk was preserved for 3,000 years by Chinese rulers to preserve their monopoly, under penalty of death. (No wonder that silk suits are still so highly prized today!) Even today, China is still the world's major producer of silk with just over half of all world production. For thousands of years, silk has been called the Queen of Fabrics, and nothing has ever surpassed it.