A Parka Made from Spiderwebs

Pop quiz:

What’s equal to steel in strength, less dense than cotton and 100% natural? Answer is spider silk.

And it could be the future of sportswear, as evidenced by the North Face’s new collaboration with Japanese startup Spiber: the Moon Parka, an outerwear prototype made from synthetic spider silk.

The North Face x Spiber Moon ParkaThe world’s first synthetic spider silk parka2:41

Material’s called QMONOS — which translates to “spider web” in Japanese — and Spiber has spent the past few years perfecting it for mass production. Basically, you’re looking at biomimicry at its finest, a process that involves producing the same kind of protein that gives spider silk its herculean properties. The prototype proves there’s still a lot of ground to break in the world of high-performance, man-made materials.

Release date is slated for 2016. Meanwhile, check out more looks below.