Silk is one of the oldest fabrics known to man, its discovery as a weavable fiber dating back as early as the mid-third century BC in China. Europe was exposed to the incomparable delicacy of silk — soft, sensuous, and shimmering in its opulence — via the “Silk Road” which created an insatiable demand. In order to counteract the harmful currency drain resulting from the import of silk, in 1466 Louis XI chose Lyon as the site for a silk industry, which flourished for over three centuries. Revolutionized with the invention of the silk loom in 1804, the weaving of complex designs was made possible.