COTTLE "LEAF VEIN"

August 20, 2024

We are pleased to announce COTTLE's order event.

As mentioned earlier, this event will run for nine days from Saturday, August 24th to Sunday, September 1st.

During this period, samples of "LEAF VEIN" and "GOLDEN WHEAT FIELD CORDUROY" from the brand's collection will be on display in the store and we will be accepting orders from those who are interested.

We just recently held Yamauchi's Spring/Summer 2025 order event in-store.

This COTTLE collection is not currently available in Japan as ready-made clothing, so it can only be ordered during the limited period.

Until now, we have only had the opportunity to introduce this to our customers once a year, so if you have the chance to come to the store, be sure to come and take a look.

And today, I'd like to introduce you to "LEAF VEIN" from the COTTLE collection.

The original "LEAF VEIN" fabric beautifully reproduces the organic nature of leaf veins and extreme complexity.

I mentioned this briefly in my blog yesterday, but the large collection "SenkohSuiu", to which "LEAF VEIN" belongs, produces fabrics that do not exist in the world .

This fabric is truly unique and exceptional.

And I don't think there's even a parallel.

We can say with confidence that this is ultra quality and one of a kind.

This photo was taken when the event was held last year, and the photo hanging on the wall is of "Leaf Veins."

This extraordinary fabric has this texture, created using three materials - Hardman's Hemp, Ultimate Pima Cotton, and raw silk - in an original weave on Kaneta Orimono's shuttle loom.

For those who are familiar with the brand, there is also a series called "EARTH WALL" by "SenkohSuiu", but we are very sorry to say that we have not had the opportunity to introduce it to you yet.

The reason for this is that the brand does not want to introduce "LEAF VEIN" and "EARTH WALL" at the same time.

That's why, because I am deeply, incredibly deeply fascinated by the "LEAF VEIN" fabric, I have been showing everyone "SenkohSuiu", which can only be introduced at limited times, through the "LEAF VEIN" series.

Of course, "EARTH WALL" is awesome too,

I love Kaneta Orimono's fabrics + the seriously awesome "LEAF VEIN" fabric

For this reason, there is no other fabric or brand that can replace it, so this will be the third year in a row that we are offering the "LEAF VEIN" series.

Today I'd like to introduce some of the things that I am extremely fascinated by deep down in my heart.

"The finest fabrics woven from thread are solid colors, followed by fine checks and stripes."

This phrase has apparently been passed down from our ancestors to generations of weavers in Japan.

This is something I hear from time to time as a salesperson, and it is "plain" fabrics that leave no room for disguise, and allow the raw materials, threads, and weave to show through.

When COTTLE's Watanabe touched a linen coat worn by a horse trader 100 years ago, he was strongly impressed by its luster, density, and soft feel against the skin.

It seems they worked with Kaneta Orimono to develop such "exquisite plain fabrics" that retain that "raw feel" even after the passage of time.

"Texture, feel, comfort, strength, and beauty when dyed"

Watanabe used his own experience to determine which materials would meet these conditions, and the one he chose was the one introduced yesterday.

・Gold Label Hardman's Hemp 100 count single yarn

- Ultimate Pima Cotton 80 count double yarn

・Raw silk (pure silk) 21d/8, which is rarely used in shuttle looms

The luster of silk, the supple strength of Ultimate Pima, and the fine knots of Hardman's Hemp.

It's such a beautiful fabric.

I believe that this is something that anyone watching will be able to experience from the day of the event, so I'm setting the bar high and looking forward to it.

COTTLE uses the above-mentioned "exquisite plain" fabrics in a total of six color variations, including the undyed (ECRU) fabric mentioned above.

"VERDURE INDIGO"

Green that represents leaf veins.

A hybrid dye that combines genuine indigo dyeing with domestic deadstock indigo.

It is a completely original recipe and the color was apparently developed experimentally.

Indigo dyeing is often thought of as a deep navy color, but it seems that domestically produced indigo dye in the past had a very strong green color.

This results in a very deep green colour, a combination of domestic deadstock indigo that is no longer on the market, and genuine indigo dyeing.

The hemp nodes and the three materials each have their own material characteristics that react to the dye, creating a bumpy, "organic" depth that resembles the veins of a real leaf.

"AUTHENTIC INDIGO"

Indigo dyeing brings out the most striking shades of the three fibres: hemp, cotton and silk.

The silk is dyed the deepest, the adjacent cotton is dyed with a heathered grain, and the hemp is dyed with a hair-like luster, leaving a core behind.

"FERMENTATION"

Undyed ECRU is hand-painted with three dyes: AUTHENTIC INDOGO (indigo dye), VERDURE INDIGO (leaf vein green), and AKANE (madder dye).

Each dye is seen soaking into the fibers and fabric, expressing the three primary colors, the proliferation of light, and the process of fermentation.

I love the undyed nuances and the FERMENTATION look that can be enjoyed with three different dyes, and I wear it as a top and bottom.

I'll post it later.

"KAKISHIBU BLACK (persimmon tannin mordant)"

This dye is made using traditional methods, by crushing persimmons and fermenting the persimmon juice.

Persimmon dyeing gives the fabric a unique hardness that covers the surface, but with repeated wearing it will soften and become more comfortable, conforming to your body.

In contrast to the "veins," this piece is mordanted with iron to enhance the black color and create a dark tone that evokes the color of the soil and the trunk of a plant.

"AUTHENTIC INDIGO + KAKISHIBU"

Finally, a super power piece.

It is dyed with thick indigo several times and then dyed with persimmon tannins on top.

"COTTLE BLACK".

As something that fits into your lifestyle and something to wear on special occasions.

We want these clothes to have a special impact on your everyday life when you wear them.

COTTLE came up with "COTTLE BLACK" as a piece of clothing to wear on school visits, special days, or when meeting someone for the first time, as a part of a tool to express yourself, to age with you, and to become more beautiful with age.

It is designed to have a presence on its own but not too conspicuous, and can also be used as part of a set.

The above

・Unstained (ECRU)

・VERDURE INDIGO (vein)

・AUTHENTIC INDIGO (genuine indigo dyeing)

・Fermentation

・KAKISHIBU BLACK (persimmon tannin mordant)

・AUTHENTIC INDIGO + KAKISHIBU (Genuine indigo persimmon tannin)

"LEAF VEIN" comes in a total of six different color variations.

I think you will find each dyeing technique incredibly fascinating.

The details of the "LEAF VEIN" made from this fabric are also incredible.

Anyway, the clothes are extremely elaborate. Amazing.

Every "LEAF VEIN" garment has one such button attached.

"Golden buffalo buttons."

The old folk art concept of "beauty of utility."

This is a method of repairing utensils that have chipped or cracked over a long period of use by adding more gold so that they can still be used.

It expresses the symbolic elements of that folk art.

These buttons are also produced in COTTLE's atelier.

This is an incredibly cool button.

In particular, the white buffalo horn buttons on top are "half-baked" and then gold-replicated, making them a real eye-catcher.

The pants also feature gold-plated buffalo buttons.

Buttons vary depending on the color and type of clothing, so please check the samples on display during the event.

Furthermore, TAILOR MADE SHIRT is available in undyed versions only, with buttons like this one.

White buffalo buttons and gold-finished white buffalo buttons.

from,,,,

The fully-burned white buffalo buttons change to brown buffalo buttons.

Since it's a shirt, the buttons themselves are not very large.

Even the buttoning has subtle intricacies that aren't obvious or flashy, but that won't be immediately obvious or comprehensible to others when they see you wearing the garment.

And even buttonholes.

This detail is used on two items of clothing: a dyed jacket called "ZEN JACKET" and a pair of trousers called "TAILOR MADE PANTS."

A buttonhole is made up of two threads: a core thread and a buttonhole thread.

In the photo, the item is black "AUTHENTIC INDIGO + KAKISHIBU", but this is an incredible technique in which the "core thread" is navy and the "hole stitching thread" is black.

This level of detail would never be possible at an outsourced sewing factory.

This is a specification unique to COTTLE, an atelier-made company that "creates what it thinks itself."

It's a very fine detail, but the way it blends with the fabric over time is completely different.

It's a detail that truly demonstrates that "God is in the details."

Oh no.

By the way, the area in the photo is where the hole threads are coming out, so I took the photo because it was easy to see, but that doesn't mean all of the hole threads are hanging down.

Furthermore, the piping on the inside of the clothes is unusual.

"Hige Tsumugi" piping.

"Hige tsumugi" is a type of tsumugi fabric that is now very rare and valuable.

In the old days, fishermen would tear up their fishing nets that had been used up while fishing and were torn and tattered, and use the nets to weave cloth.

Apparently there are some very old antique "hige-tsumugi" spinning tops, which are used for the interior piping.

Speaking of piping, the interior of the jacket is also completely covered with linen piping.

The Odaiba style inner pocket is still in place, and the ridges are linen piped.

Even the belt loops on the pants have linen herringbone fabric on the back.

COTTLE is extremely particular about even the smallest details.

I no longer take photos, but the number of stitches is more than in normal clothing, making for a very sturdy finish, and even the width of the stitches is finer than the theory.

I often wear a TAILOR MADE SHIRT from "LEAF VEIN" in the color FERMENTATION, and when I meet designers from other brands while wearing it, it immediately catches the eye of many of the designers not just for the hand-painted color, but for the way the stitching is done and the sewing specifications.

This shows that these are not just "ordinary" clothes, but are made to special specifications in the atelier.

And this is my beloved "LEAF VEIN" setup.

TAILOR MADE SHIRT (FERMENTATION) and GURHKA PANTS (FERMENTATION).

The shirt is size 1 and the pants are the smallest size, size 0.

The TAILOR MADE SHIRT has a more intense feel to the hand-painted design by FERMENTATION, right?

That's right.

In fact, I've worn it so much over the last two and a half years that the hand-painted colour has faded, so I asked Watanabe from COTTLE to hand-paint it again.

That's why, on top of the faded hand paint, further fermentation is added, and taking into account the shades, there are a total of about eight colors in MY TAILOR MADE SHIRT.

COTTLE allows for re-dyeing in this way.

The fabrics are designed with the primary goal of improving over time, so they don't deteriorate at all, and since they are Kaneta's fabrics, the clothes COTTLE makes can be worn for a long time.