The number of silk farmers in Thailand is decreasing. Thai silk's reputation for high quality and unique weaving techniques and patterns is well established, but its golden age has dimmed. Young urbanised Thais prefer more upscale labor to the traditional and arduous tasks of sericulture and weaving. Only their grandparents knew how to raise and harvest silkworms. Few farmers tend mulberry trees to feed the worms, and even fewer people are earning a living wage from silk cultivation.

The Modern Thai Silk project aims to keep alive classical weaving patterns and techniques. It has come up with silk in various forms--knitted, woven, stretchy like spandex, light and thin as chiffon, dyed in every imaginable hue. There is silk which is wrinkle-free, and thus suitable for daily use. These prototypes will be displayed from February 18 to 20 at Premiere Vision, Paris, the world's top fabrics fair.

Over the past year the project has been involved in R&D in all areas of the industry, from raising the silkworms, reeling the thread, spinning the yarn and actually making the fabric, to the design, dyeing, printing, marketing and consumer response.

Companies in Thailand have developed a technique to produce four-color silk melange yarn. This will allow them to produce more colors to match designers' needs.