Tradition has it that the use of silk was discovered in China more than 4,500 years ago. At one time, it was so widely used that it was not confined to clothing but also was used for fishing lines, bow-strings, and manufacturing waterproof vessels for transporting liquids.
Although a severely guarded Chinese monopoly, the opening of the silk road gave way to local sericulture in such countries as Japan, the Middle-East, North Africa, Italy and the South of France. In the West, silk was adopted as a luxury fabric, and is still one of the most prestigious and luxurious fabrics in the world.
Because of its strategic location, Lyon became in the 1400s a major warehouse for imported silks. These imports caused a harmful outflow of capital, and in 1466 King Louis XI declared "his intention to introduce the art and craft of making silk fabrics in our city Lyon". Later, in 1536, Francois 1st gave to Lyon the monopoly of the silk trade, thus creating the Lyon silk industry.
In 1804, again in Lyon, Joseph-Marie Jacquard, inventor of the loom that bears his name, perfected the method of producing textured fabrics and incorporating designs into the weave by the use of perforated cards. It was a revolution in weaving techniques, and another tremendous boom for the Lyon silk industry.
Ever since, the Lyon weavers, dyers, printers and finishers have continuously developed new techniques and improved old ones, blending masterfully tradition and innovation, sometimes even giving silk a new dimension with the introduction of blends of man-made high-tech fibers.
Lyon is considered the silk capital of France and is the source for silk for the world's top designers and other users of fine silk products.
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