Wednesday, February 25, 2026
Séricyne: The Non-Woven Natural Silk Reviving French Sericulture
The Séricyne process, developed by Clara Hardy to produce non-woven natural silk, has enabled the revival of sericulture in France. This new-generation silk is now attracting the luxury industry.
Having completely disappeared from the Cévennes—despite having been one of the region’s main economic resources from the late 16th century through the mid-20th century—the silk industry has been making a notable comeback in recent years, driven by a Normandy-born entrepreneur.
In 2013, Clara Hardy, then a Design & Innovation student at École Boulle (from which she graduated top of her class), was tasked with developing an innovative project focused on the production of a textile material.
Initially, an academic project
Her attention turned to silk, and more specifically to the process by which the mulberry silkworm produces silk thread. Drawn to the history and potential of the material, she set out to find a different, more original way of working with it.
The near-total absence of sericulture in France was not a deterrent—quite the opposite.
For Clara Hardy, working with a largely unexplored fiber represented a real opportunity. She embarked on a journey to discover an industry she had yet to learn from scratch: traveling to Asia and Turkey, where sericulture remains well established, as well as to the Cévennes and Ardèche regions, where a few enthusiasts still raise silkworms on a small scale, often for schools or local museums.
Gradually, a key idea emerged: eliminate the cocoon stage—normally heated to reel the silk thread—and instead encourage the silkworm to weave directly onto molds, much like a 3D printer. The student had found her innovation.
Patented in 2015 under the name Séricyne, the process then awaited industrial development. Although Clara Hardy briefly considered expanding her activity abroad, she quickly realized that Séricyne could offer a unique opportunity to sustainably reintroduce sericulture in France.
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Source: Marcelle, les médias de solutions
Source: Marcelle, les médias de solutions