Qiana

Qiana was a nylon fabric invented by DuPont in 1968, and was so hot that it was actually used as the brand name for clothing as well, such as this tie. Qiana was meant to be silk-like, and I can attest that it does look and feel more like silk than any other synthetic tie fabric I've handled, but it's still not quite the same. It is literally louder than silk, i.e. it makes more of a rustling noise when tying the tie. For that matter, the pattern on this tie is louder than most too!

In 1980, U.S. Patent #4238191 was granted for a process whereby alcohol is used to bulk the Qiana (linear polycarbonamide) fibers. The patent application makes interesting reading (or skimming), as it provides insight into the heavy chemistry involved in synthetic textile production.

(This was the original shirt I picked out to go with last Friday's tie, but the pinks in the tie didn't get along with the pink in the shirt, so I had to pick another shirt; and the rest is infamy.)