From the other day, I was telling you about the fabric woven by "Yamaei Keori".
As I wrote a little bit at the beginning of this article, it is an "unknown" area for me, and one level of material that I want to pursue in my life related to clothes.
When I saw this material at Yamaei Keori, I wanted to maximize the potential of the material with Yamaei Keori's "double-opening low-speed rapier loom".
And I wanted not only myself, but also the people who visit our store to take the time to experience it.
that material,
"Guanaco".
I don't think many people know about this fiber.
Also, I think there are few people who have seen fabrics that use it, or who already have it.
I think it's infinitely close to zero.
That alone is an extremely rare material.
Mr. Yamada of Sanei Keori says that this is the second time he has woven guanaco fiber in the last 20 years.
Even Yamaei Keori, which is visited by various designers and manufacturers from all over the world, has only a small number.
Recently, I myself have been asked at exhibitions and at the brands I keep in touch with on a daily basis, asking me, "Are you making any fabrics at the moment?" Only two people knew of the existence of the fiber.
It is said that it is a very rare fiber that even people in the production area of Bishu spend their entire lives without knowing about it.
Just, but. This material is sometimes referred to as an overwhelming "rare fiber", but it is not only that, but also the "fineness" that expresses the quality of the fiber.
That level is pretty good.
Well, in the previous blog I wrote about Yamaei Keori, I introduced Mr. Yamada of Yamaei Keori, who said, "The fabric is not just XX microns."
Just in case, just in case. Just in case, let me tell you.
And this time, they prepared the best guanaco for me.
The fineness of the guanaco fiber this time is "14.5 microns to 16 microns".
First class guanaco.
A human hair is 80 microns in diameter, so this figure is incomparable to even a single strand of hair.
Well, in the first place, even if you search on the Internet, you can't find any information about it at all, so let me introduce a little.
Guanacos are animals that live in Peru and Argentina.
It is a species of the Camelidae family, the same as the Bactrian camel.
The llama, alpaca, and vicuna are classified.
Guanacos are smaller than llamas and taller than alpacas, about 120 cm tall.
And it seems that they are said to be the ancestors of llamas and alpacas.
Alpacas and llamas are said to have been domesticated from wild guanacos.
Of course, they live in highlands where humans cannot live normally. They seem to live in lower places than Vicuña.
Such a feature of guanaco fiber has a great feature when the fiber is super expanded.
On the surface of wool and animal hair fibers there are scales, similar to the cuticles of human hair.
The scale of guanaco is so thin that it can be said that it is almost non-existent.
This point is common to Vicuña.
So it's very slimy and incredibly soft.
Sheep wool, of course, has scales, and so does alpaca.
However, guanaco and vicuna have thinner scales than cashmere and mohair, and the surface of the hair is extremely smooth.
These two stand out.
That is infinitely close to silk.
Just looking at the unevenness of the fiber surface, it looks very similar to silk, which anyone can easily imagine is smooth.
And if the vicuña, which is said to be the "phantom fiber", is called the "king", the guanaco is the fiber called the "queen".
However, due to the characteristics of the fiber, 100% guanaco "does not exist as a fabric".
Or rather, strictly speaking, "100% guanaco" is said to be "not threadable" due to the characteristics of the fiber.
That's how delicate the fibers are.
I have never heard of anything else that cannot be made into thread or fabric from a single fiber alone.
However, if "100% guanaco" cannot be threaded and fabric cannot exist, if it can be shaped in a different way, the overwhelming softness and sliminess of guanaco fiber can be achieved. , I thought I could feel the texture.
So this was the start.
First, I thought of various ways to make guanaco threads.
Even though I thought about it, I didn't think about it.
I was just telling him my ideals, so Mr. Yamada of Yamaei Keori, a spinning shop, and a certain brand designer came up with the idea.
In the meantime, I prayed desperately as I could. smile
In order to realize the best balance that I asked for, I was very involved in various methods from various aspects.
There are two things that I absolutely cannot rule out.
The first is that the characteristics of guanaco fiber are extremely useful, and you can feel the charm of guanaco.
The second is that the fiber is too delicate, but there must be something that you can feel after using it for many years.
Therefore, the fabric must have "durability" that can withstand repeated use over many years.
It's delicate, soft, and comfortable, but you can't wear it only occasionally, or you can't use it.
If anything, it would be okay if you could wash it from time to time and change it accordingly.
Even with ultra-heavy use, it responds to it, and the "power" of the fiber and fabric will be demonstrated when you use it that much.
I took that very seriously.
Well, I think it's pretty difficult if you think about it in "Guanaco".
It's a fiber that is said to be very delicate, and although it's good to say, I was wondering if it could be realized.
However, as expected.
Mr. Keori Yamaei took the time to shape it beautifully.
Already, goosebumps.
Really, as expected of Mr. Keori Yamaei. The weaving shop boasts over 100 years of history, but it is very creative.
I believed that Mr. Yamaei would use guanaco to create something that fulfilled my needs, but on the contrary, the finished product exceeded my expectations. I've crossed over.
I feel that I have achieved something truly amazing.
This is the fabric.
this fabric.
It will be the first fabric in Japan.
As mentioned above, guanaco fiber is extremely rare and valuable, but even if you see it now, it is sometimes seen as a "knit".
It's just that this time, it's "weaving".
woven fabric.
Or rather, this fabric, the fabric is not the original, but because guanaco thread did not exist, I had it made from "thread" as "original".
As I mentioned earlier, what I was aiming for was to create a strong and tough fabric that gives the strongest feel to the guanaco's unique fiber characteristics.
100% guanaco cannot be used to make thread.
That's why it's the best way to realize "guanaco yarn" and make it my ideal shape.
It has "toughness" while maintaining the "texture" of guanaco.
For that reason, in addition to guanaco fiber, we blended "15 micron" wool, which is equivalent to its fineness.
In other words, it is a blend of guanaco and wool.
The guanaco thread I'm using is 14.5 to 16 microns, so I put "wool" of the same level of fineness so as not to disturb the fibers.
In the often-expressed SUPER notation, this would be "SUPER 160S".
This "SUPER 160S" wool gives guanaco "tenacity" and "core strength", and as a result, it is possible to create "strong yarn", which is very stable as a yarn.
In addition, when I used the guanaco fiber, I wanted to make the fabric undyed and show the charm of guanaco as it is.
The reason is that this is where the characteristics of the fiber are exhibited most, and it may be the "first and last material" for me. Because I wanted to feel
Therefore, 15 micron wool is also "undyed" to match "undyed guanaco".
It seems that there are various types of SUPER 160S.
And among them, it seems that there was a fairly high-quality raw material that was undyed and "white" even among the same fineness.
In fact, the spinner suggested it, and the "non-dyed guanaco wool yarn" was completed.
I think that this is an ultra-class combination that does not go unnoticed.
Mr. Yamaei Keori, the spinners, and all of you have worked so hard for this.
It seems that it is one of the leading spinning shops in the country.
This yarn is 60% guanaco and 40% wool, and is "blended". In order to make the final fabric we want, we had them make a bulging "spun wool" yarn called "12 count single yarn". .
The reason for choosing "wool" is the opinions of Yamaei Keori, spinning shops, and the world's top professionals, and they said, "If you want to make the most of the characteristics of guanaco, you should definitely use the wool." I had the "original thread" made.
This thread is used as the "warp thread".
And then "weft".
It was very important to decide what to use for this "weft" versus the "guanaco wool blended yarn" for the warp.
Guanaco has overwhelming softness and smoothness.
And the blend is 15 micron wool.
Ordinarily, the wefts would be aligned, or the wefts would be finished with wool or another animal hair to give the overall soft finish.
Up until now, that's what I was asking for.
But this time, I already had a clear image of the ideal image of the finished clothes.
Besides, I know that if I make it uniform with animal fiber, it's high quality and good, but if it's just that, I can imagine what it would be like.
When Mr. Yamauchi and Mr. Keori Kuzuri made the "Ferreira Mohair" in December, I was already overwhelmed by this experience.
That's why I wanted to bring the precious guanaco fiber to the super unexperienced zone.
And what I put out in myself was
"FOX 50G".
This fiber is
Cotton.
"Super fiber wool x cotton".
I wanted to create an unknown combination of unknown materials.
And I thought that this would lead to "strength" when it became a fabric.
"FOX 50G" is a type of cotton called "Fox Green".
This is "miracle cotton".
What do you mean.
An American biologist, Ms. Sally Fox, has revived the "brown cotton" that existed in ancient times through organic farming.
This "brown cotton" or brown cotton is natural colored cotton and is completely organic.
It is called "FOX BROWN".
It's called "FOX B".
However, it seems that a mutation occurred during the development of this species.
And the finished product is another colored cotton.
The "green" color is a very beautiful and natural vivid green.
This beauty was thought to be left as it was and was preserved.
The brown and green cotton developed by Sally Fox is now organically grown in Dorsey Alvarez's cotton fields in Texas, USA.
yes.
Dorsey Alvarez.
As I have written several times on this blog, he is also a cultivator of "Ultimate Pima Cotton".
This Ultimate Pima is a high-quality cotton that Kaneta Orimono often uses.
That's why I make full use of my drawer. smile
And the "green cotton" used for the weft is commonly known as "FOX G", and this time, we chose "FOX 50G", which is the "maximum concentration of green" that can be obtained naturally.
Undyed guanaco wool (warp)
and
FOX 50G green cotton (weft).
Of course, this is also undyed because it is used as it is.
And it's not just the color.
"FOX 50G" is usually distributed as a single yarn, and considering the price, it is possible to reduce that point a little by using the single yarn as it is.
However, there were also discussions with Yamaei Keori and the brand we worked with this time, and in order to upgrade the green cotton, we asked Guanaco to create it with "two-ply yarn".
This is because the quality changes completely depending on whether it is a single yarn or a two-ply yarn.
Everything about the quality of thread changes.
Two-ply yarn of "FOX 50G" strong and beautiful against guanaco wool.
It is woven with a thick thread called 20/2.
And the important fabric organization.
As for the organization, I really liked the brands I worked with this time, and there was an organization that I was good at.
And I was also very fascinated by the organization of the fabrics that the brand was making.
"Modified twill weave".
It's "latine".
Especially this time, I had a vague image of the completed clothes, and this organization was indispensable to realize it.
It is not monotonous and has regularity, but it has a complexity close to that of nature and an organization with depth.
Yet, the expression on the front and back is different, and I feel that there is something that draws me in. It is a texture of the fabric.
And the designed fabric standard is carefully woven over time with Yamaei Keori's "double opening low speed rapier loom", high density, and the yarn itself has outstanding swelling.
In terms of mixing ratio,
38% guanaco, 36% cotton, 26% wool, a mysterious material.
The basis weight of the fabric is 555g.
That's a lot of weight.
It catches your eye firmly, and you can feel its density the moment you hold it in your hand.
However, you should be able to instantly feel the bulge and lightness of the spun wool, which is a transcendent material, but the toughness of the firm cotton.
This fabric will surprise you when you wear it.
I don't know if it's dry or soaking wet. smile
When you do laundry, even more so.
The guanaco and wool fall down very smoothly, but the cotton is stretched. smile
It's an overwhelming touch that snuggles up to the skin without defying gravity, but the cotton is sure to stand on its own.
"Coexistence Beyond Understanding".
Even with just the fabric, this impact should impress everyone.
That doesn't mean that you can get it right away, but "beyond it" there is an even greater world waiting for you.
I believe that we have created an "unknown fabric" that all of us have never experienced before.
However, it is not only the quality of the super raw materials, but also the quality of the weaving by Mr. Yamaei Keori who wove it.
super inspiring.
As I said earlier, this is especially true when washing.
This time, I asked Yamaei Keori to weave "125m" of this fabric.
Considering one store, it's quite a lot, but since it's something that doesn't exist anywhere else, we wanted to get as many people as possible to see our store, so we used up all the meters.
I can't announce the price per meter here, but it's a pretty high price.
And, as mentioned above, the fabric is a "latine" structure.
The characteristics of this fabric are completely different on the front and back.
Ratiné is called "Ratiné" as it is on the front.
On the other hand, the back side is the name of a different fabric.
That is "Tussah".
Both surfaces are first class.
So I took each aspect.
65% guanaco wool, "latine" that appears on the surface.
"Tussah" where 65% of FOX 50G two-ply yarn appears on the surface.
The fabric has the same blend ratio and is undyed as it is, but the appearance is completely different.
And we asked people with special sewing quality for the fabric.
One of the top 3 domestic women's high-end ready-to-wear factories.
"Maya Garment Factory".
yes.
And among the brands we carry, there is only one brand that makes clothes at the "Maya Garment Factory".
This time, we made clothes together with
"tilt The authentics".
People with a tremendous level of technology took a tremendous amount of time and made it carefully.
I think it will be unveiled soon.
Continue. . .