Hello.
I'm Noguchi from CASANOVA&CO.
How was your Golden Week holiday?
At CASANOVA&CO, we had a Golden Week that was neither bustling nor deserted, thanks to customers who came from afar and those who always visit us.
The DAN TOMMATSU order event is still ongoing until this Sunday, the 10th, so we hope you'll continue to check it out.
And today, I'm talking about WR/ESSE.
This season, we held our annual event from late February to early March.
At that time, we focused on "PEBBLE" The Step and "SHADOW" The Plain.
In particular, "PEBBLE" is a jersey material that opened up new possibilities for WR/ESSE, which doesn't have the option of woven fabrics like shirt materials.
I think it was revolutionary for the future style of the brand and for our daily lives.
But this season's WR/ESSE isn't over yet.
Most of the brands in our store have already delivered all their items, but WR/ESSE recently sent us a lot. (laughs)
It's a new, essential French terry that's perfect for the coming season and will become indispensable all year round.
ECHO.
I think it's a new frontier for Mr. Kakoi, who is responsible for WR/ESSE's fabric development.
This.
This is "ECHO."
This is really good.
The concept of "good French terry" is updated.
It's a paradigm shift in French terry.
Generally, when people hear "good French terry," I think many imagine a heavy, thick French terry with a dense weave.
I feel like that has been the trend recently.
In that realm, WR/ESSE's "WHALE" was responsible, and "WHALE" was a quality that transcended trends and such concepts, but "ECHO" found an expression of French terry that wasn't in that direction.
This is the back of "ECHO."
For those who have been following since the beginning, it might be familiar, but the brand had a fabric called "FRIEND" that was available in the first and second seasons.
In fact, this "ECHO" is an expression that was born precisely because of "FRIEND."
While "FRIEND" was a jacquard French terry aiming for a neat look, "ECHO" aimed for a soft look, as if it had been worn in from new.
According to Mr. Kakoi, "FRIEND is too serious."
Well, I thought Mr. Kakoi's fabrics were beyond serious and had a crazy stoicism. (laughs)
However, "ECHO" aims to soften the seriousness of "FRIEND" while maintaining "FRIEND's" goal of "French terry that can be worn 365 days a year," and to enhance its suitability for summer.
To achieve these goals, "ECHO" was born as a French terry material blended with silk.
Considering that, once again, the front and back.
You can see a fluffy texture on both surfaces.
This is the expression created by the silk nep blended yarn we've incorporated this time.
The advantages of using silk nep for this worn-in look are:
① Silk's temperature and humidity regulating functions
② Lightness not found in nubs expressed by cotton or linen
③ Softness to the touch despite the strength of the twisted yarn
and so on.
I think ① and ② are somewhat easy to understand, but personally, I think ③ is quite important.
In the case of "ECHO," in order to achieve the airiness that allows it to be worn throughout the year, all of the face yarn, core yarn, and back yarn are designed to be single yarns.
However, while a single yarn design offers lightness, it can compromise the durability of the fabric compared to double yarns or three-ply yarns.
But if you try to compensate for that by using a thicker yarn count, the weight increases, making it unsuitable for year-round wear.
Caught in this dilemma, Mr. Kakoi decided to apply MVS processing to fine-count strong twisted yarn to prevent pilling and give the yarn strength itself.
However, this also changes the feel of the yarn.
What I mean is, applying MVS processing to strong twisted yarn naturally results in a stiff, gritty feel to the yarn.
Even if the French terry is light and can be worn year-round, it's meaningless if it feels gritty against the skin.
That's where silk nep came in.
Instead of being composed solely of cotton yarn, it is mixed with 5% silk nep, and by making it a strong twisted MVS single yarn, it achieves both a pleasant feel and detachment from the skin, giving "ECHO" all the airiness of the fabric, the temperature and humidity regulating function unique to silk, and a soft, worn-in mood.
...Well, it's hard to understand with words alone, isn't it?
Well, basically, you can just think of it as "an amazing French terry that breaks down the notion of what a 'sweatshirt' feels like."
I think you'll somewhat get a feel for it when you touch it.
WONDER ROOM ESSE
The Line
material _ [ECHO] cotton 98%,silk 2%
color _ STONE GRAY,BLACK
size _ S,M,L
There are three items that use "ECHO," and first up is the long-sleeve crew neck, The Line.
This "The Line" is a style used for both jersey and French terry, and in terms of shape, it's exactly like an intermediate between a long-sleeve T-shirt and a sweatshirt.
Personally, I think this style is a perfect fit for "ECHO."
The neck is neither too tight nor too loose.
Compared to previous sweatshirts, I think it has a bit more room.
The shoulders are the usual split design.
Similar to "SHADOW" The Plain that I introduced at the event, The Line also has a seam running down the center back.
I believe this seam is key; by having a join here, unnecessary bulk is eliminated, creating a sharp silhouette characteristic of WR/ESSE, even though it's French terry.
The cuffs and hem are ribbed.
It's sturdy, but not too tight.
It's about as easy as rolling up your sleeves.
It's hard to tell from the photos, but I think the black also has a soft look due to the expression of the silk nep.
Many of Mr. Kakoi's previous French terry and jersey fabrics were woven with the tightest possible gauge, but this time "ECHO" is the opposite.
The idea is to weave it with as loose a gauge as possible to achieve a more airy texture, boosting the expression of the silk nep.
For that reason, I think it's a French terry that would look great worn over a tank top.
WONDER ROOM ESSE
The Flow
material _ [ECHO] cotton 98%,silk 2%
color _ LIME,STONE GRAY,BLACK
size _ S,M,L
This is also a newly introduced style, The Flow.
It's a wide-silhouette full-length pant with no outseam.
Generally, pocket openings are created using the outseam, but even with a construction without an outseam, these pockets are perfectly crisp.
Apparently, this is because they meticulously perform ironing, which is often omitted in French terry materials.
This is quality control that only in-house sewing at Mr. Kakoi's atelier can achieve.
The waist has elastic and a drawstring.
There's no fly.
As some of you may have noticed from the previous photos, The Flow uses fabric laid horizontally.
While the horizontal use of fabric in woven pants is generally intended to create a stiff silhouette by utilizing the horizontal tension, the horizontal use of "ECHO" aims to prevent the "vertical movement of the fabric," such as stretching and shrinking due to wear and washing, from affecting the shape.
If the fabric were used vertically along the grain, I imagine that with repeated wear, the fabric would stretch, and the absence of an outseam would lead to uneven stretching, causing the pants' line to lose its shape.
In other words, by using the fabric horizontally, the distortion caused by the vertical movement of the fabric is minimized. That's what I think.
It's a specification to control French terry material, which has more freedom of movement than woven fabric, into the desired shape, and I think it's wonderful that it's focused not just on the new state but also on how it will look after a lot of wear.
Mr. Kakoi's fabrics are very tough, but I believe that WR/ESSE's concept of "essential" means that both the sewing and the specifications are equally tough.
WONDER ROOM ESSE
The Edge
material _ [ECHO] cotton 98%,silk 2%
color _ LIME,STONE GRAY
size _ S,M,L
Lastly for "ECHO" is this.
A French terry sleeveless top.
It might seem like a niche choice, but it's a masterpiece.
It can be worn sleeveless over a tank top, or as a vest over a T-shirt, which is also perfectly fine.
Furthermore, if you put something over it, it looks like you're wearing a crew-neck sweatshirt, but the arms don't feel bulky.
Could this be the optimal solution for "ECHO," which aims to be worn throughout the year?
The way the shoulders drop and the armholes open is exquisite.
I think it has found the optimal solution for both wearing as a sleeveless top and layering as a vest.
Just try it on, anyway.
I think it will open up an unexpected option for you: a "French terry sleeveless top."
Oh, by the way, I forgot to mention something important.
All items in the "ECHO" series that I'm introducing today are garment-dyed.
The pale LIME, the purplish STONE GRAY, and the BLACK are all garment-dyed.
This garment dyeing accentuates the somewhat vintage-like appearance of the silk nep.
And as mentioned earlier, even though it "isn't made solely of cotton yarn but is mixed with 5% silk nep," the product only contains 2% silk in its composition, which is also due to this garment dyeing process.
I didn't know this until this morning, but WR/ESSE apparently conducts material composition tests twice.
The first time is for the raw fabric, and the second time is after dyeing.
This applies not only to garment dyeing like with "ECHO," but also to fabric dyeing.
This is because the dyeing process can affect the composition.
Especially when fibers like silk or cashmere are used in "ECHO," these fibers tend to fall off during the dyeing process, so even if Mr. Kakoi controlled the yarn production from the beginning and knew the exact blending percentage, the actual product might not reflect that.
Because Mr. Kakoi has worked with top maisons around the world, he is very particular about such factual verification.
This composition test, of course, has to be outsourced to a specialized institution, and each test incurs a significant cost, but they proceed regardless.
Even if Mr. Kakoi himself controlled the composition of the yarn, it's a necessary process for WR/ESSE.
I don't know the entire industry, so I can't say if conducting composition tests twice is unusual, but I think this alone shows how earnestly WR/ESSE approaches manufacturing.
So, while "ECHO" was designed with 5% silk added to cotton, the product quality label correctly indicates 2% silk.
The missing 3% of silk may have, in fact, vanished, but please feel its essence in the fabric's appearance with your heart.
A full "ECHO" look with The Line and The Flow.
I'm wearing a long-sleeved inner layer, but I think it's the perfect season to wear The Line with a tank top, which feels amazing.
The drape that only "ECHO", airy enough to overturn the concept of fleece, can achieve, and The Flow that perfectly anticipated its movement.
A superb combination from Ikorai-san and Hamada-san.
Personally, I think the LIME color is exceptionally good.
Combined with the fabric's worn-in look, I think it's a yellow that you can wear casually.
With The Edge in LIME, I feel like a relaxed, laid-back layering is the way to go.
When it's STONE GRAY, it looks modern.
I think it's a masterpiece of fleece that breaks the stereotype of "fleece = sweatshirt = cozy."
The "ECHO" series will be available in stores starting tomorrow, Friday the 8th.
We have prepared a WR/ESSE space in the store with CAMELLIA, where you can experience "beyond Suvin," The Drift, which could be an option for summer PEBBLLE, and The Plain in SHADOW, so please feel free to come and see them for yourself.
Please take a look if you're interested.