Until Thursday 19th December, we will feature a different competition prize on the blog every day, it's Selvedge's 12 Days of Christmas. You have until 6pm GMT on 19th December to enter all the competitions.
Today, we feature the clothing label Noir which is offering the chance to win a wrap made of Guangdong mud silk, a two-colour fabric distinguished by its black upper surface and brown underside.
Noir is a one size unisex clothing label made to layer and to last. It is a personal project from designer Marcella Echavarria, concerned with preserving ancestral heritage textile techniques, design and Marcella's passion for everything beautiful and well made.
Guangdong mud silk is a two-colour fabric distinguished by its black upper surface and brown underside. Originated in the Guangdong Province of China and dating back to the Ming Dynasty in the fifth century, the craft of processing mud silk has been kept alive within the region where subtropic river deltas carry a special iron-rich mud that binds to the silk.
The entirely organic technique embraces beautiful deep brown and black hues that can only be achieved through a laborious, season specific process that has not changed after almost 2,500 years. Find out more about the steps involved in this short film from Loom Loop and the Design Trust.
“The farmers of Shunde in Guangdong province have worked on gummed silk for hundreds of years, combining soil, a plant, water and fire together. Soil: clayey mud rich in iron; A plant: the sap of the Shuliang yam; Water: dewdrops in the mist-shrouded dawn; Fire: sunrays from May through October,” Bonnie Tchien Hy.
Noir presents editions once in a while according to the availability of the fabric and the different hues that the Pearl river carries each year. Mud silk is equivalent to wearing liquid, or to be embraced by the wind. The Chinese call it variously, perfumed cloud clothing, fragrant cloud silk cloth, and singing silk cloth.
To enter to win the Noir wrap, visit the competition here.