Yasu Whekang.

THE CYCLOSA SPIDER’S WEB

Fashion student of Central Saint Martins BA, Yasu Whekang, created this striking piece titled “Eat or be Eaten”, highlighting the concept of we, as individuals, navigating through the ‘forest’ of society. The headpiece strongly resembles the web design of the Cyclosa Spider from its intricately woven circular patterns and the elements that radiate a sense of delicacy and complexity.

Cyclosa spiders are known for their unique web structures, often incorporating debris, egg sacs and other materials as part of the stabilimenta- decorative structures made of silk to help camouflage the spider. The spiders arrange this debris in a line down the center of their web, often in spiral patterns, which also give the form its stability.

The circular elements in these webs are created by the spiders meticulously laying down silk in concentric, cohesive circular patterns and working with precision to ensure the web is structurally sound while also serving as a trap. The layered silk creates a strong contrast with the way the spiders constantly repeat the same motions in order to create the design and strong white color.

This headpiece mirrors the web structure by the number of times that the material had to be wrapped, strategically bent and reinforced in order to make up the circular, whirled shape. Yasu Whekang used tethered clothing tags to simulate the threads of the spider’s web. These tags are purposely placed in loops that wrap around the wearer’s head in circles, echoing the spiral patterns seen in Cyclosa webs. As you look closer at this headpiece, the tags stick out in all directions, giving off an uneasy-itchy feeling, sort of close to the feeling spiders give people.

The way the tags are clustered and extended outward mimics the spider’s use of debris and silk to create a visual and physical texture that serves its dual purpose- to adorn and protect. The dark, matte color of the headpiece contrasts with the shimmering light-reflective nature of real spider silk, but the overall effect remains strikingly similar in terms of form and complexity. Both the headpiece and the spider’s web display a sense of fragility and resilience, making them visually and strikingly similar.

Designer @yasu_whekang