Vol.5
Making the most of your kimono and giving it new life.
The brand's new project, H-series
■For example, were ideas such as the newest H series born from repeating this process and overcoming challenges?
"The more you make something, the more scraps you end up with. Parts that are unusable because of small stains, spots, or fraying accumulate. But it would be a shame to throw them away. We wondered if there was something we could do about it, and that's how the H series was born."
■When we say scraps = H , well, do they really come out in such large quantities during the production process?
"It's huge. For example, if the width that can be used for a scarf is 30cm , there are a lot of unused scraps of about 20cm . They are incomplete, or not long enough or wide enough, so there's no way to use them. There's a huge amount of length, but they just can't be used. But there's no way not to make use of them."
■The first product in the H-series will be a rug, but it is very interesting that it is aimed at interior design rather than as a fashion/apparel item.
"These crinkly rugs made from scraps originally come from Morocco. They're called Beau Charwit, and I bought one when I was traveling in Morocco because I thought it was so beautiful. Morocco has an industry that makes beautiful hand-knitted carpets, and Beau Charwit is made from scraps. It's a recycled rug. Curtains, clothes, and other unwanted items are cut up and made into rugs. So it's not really a souvenir, but rather a local, domestic item. It's not something that's exported overseas as an expensive local specialty, I think. However, I happened to see a Beau Charwit rug at a hotel in Morocco where I was staying. There were lots of Beau Charwit carpets hanging there, and they were so beautiful. They were truly works of art. Each one had a different pattern. Some had set patterns, but each was unique, born from the sense of the person who hand-knitted them. I really liked that. So I asked the guide at the time, "I want this carpet, where can I buy it?" (laughs). He told me that it wasn't available in high-end carpet or rug stores. But I still wanted it, so I went to the factory and bought it for myself. Then, I was thinking about what I liked about using scraps, and I found Beau Charwit in my house. So I thought, what would happen if I made this into a kimono? And that's how it all started."
■I see.
"That was really the starting point. I thought it would be great if kimonos could be reborn as works that reflected the maker's sense and could be seen as works of art. Wouldn't it be wonderful in terms of cross-cultural exchange? I was interested to see what would come out of it. However, when I actually tried to give it a try, Morocco was far away and there were no routes. So I looked into what to do and found a route to India. It turned out that they could be made in India if we gave instructions. Moroccan designs are unique to Morocco, so they cannot be reproduced in India. After all, they are made by specialized artists. But if we can create a design to a certain extent, we might be able to make something similar. So I sent a large amount of scraps I had on hand, as well as kimonos that hadn't even been disassembled because they were dirty and stained, to India. I then tried having the people at the Indian factory carve and select the materials and put them together into a single rug. Basically, what I was hoping for was that color matching overseas is unique, isn't it? It's different from the Japanese sense of color matching. I felt that it was something that couldn't be achieved in Japan. I wanted to see what that was like, so I asked someone overseas to do it for me. My only instructions were that there should be a certain pattern and that it should be circular. I left the color matching completely up to them. I told them to do whatever they wanted. That's why the finished product is so innovative and a little unusual."
■Unlike previous products, this one incorporates a different perspective and sensibility from your own.
"The H-series is a series that poses many challenges. The main theme is what can be made using small scraps of fabric, so I wanted to create something fun and exciting that is different from the slightly cool image of apparel. Something casual and new."
■The second series of room slippers also have a cross-cultural feel reminiscent of babouche slippers.
"Yes, the original image for this was babouche shoes, but when we made a sample it was pretty lame (laughs). So, as we made improvements after improvements, we ended up with something original. So I think it's a brand that's really a nuisance to the people who actually make them (laughs). I guess you could say it's the kind of boldness or idea that only an amateur with no experience in making things can say. We don't mind asking things that someone with detailed knowledge would never make. I'm really grateful that there are people who are willing to go along with it. It's really fun to have people who find my crazy ideas amusing, and to work with them to create something a little different that's never been seen before."
