Superhydrophobic textiles that can withstand real-world wear and environmental extremes are essential for protective clothing, outdoor gear and industrial applications, yet most existing approaches rely on surface coatings or fluorinated chemistries that degrade rapidly under abrasion, washing or harsh conditions. Now, writing in Nature Communications, Lei Wu, Dezhao Hao, Zhichao Dong and colleagues report a one-step molecular assembly strategy that forms a robust superhydrophobic shell directly on individual fibres, yielding fabrics that maintain water repellency even after extensive mechanical and environmental stress.