Today, let me talk about COTTLE, which I introduced the other day.
This time, it will be held for 3 days from May 21st (Sat) to 23rd (Mon).
COTTLE "SenkohSuiu" ORDER EXHIBITION
From this timing, we will introduce COTTLE to everyone for the first time at our store.
COTTLE has two series in the first place.
"UNIFORM FOR LIVING" ＝ "Perfect fit for living"
And "SenkohSuiu" = "incense (flashing) green rain"
In this 3 days, we have prepared not only SenkohSuiu but also a little bit of the UNIFORM FOR LIVING series.
This is a lineup that you can purchase and take home immediately.
The SenkohSuiu lineup will be delivered only to those who have received the order, which is a just-in-time production method.
I want to deliver only the necessary amount to those who need it, not the current general concept of clothes.
Mr. Watanabe's way of thinking is included, and for that reason, it is not currently lined up in stores at normal times.
And the "SenkohSuiu" series.
The theme of this time is
A collection that expresses "LEAF VEIN" = "leaf veins".
"vein"
A bundle of vascular tissue inside the leaf.
Its function is to transport goods and mechanically support the leaves.
The SenkohSuiu collection embodies the structure, mechanism, and circulation of stems, roots, and leaves that only plants have as materials and clothes.
From the selection of thread, making the fabric, sewing, and natural dyeing to express the "leaf veins". At a level that is not hampered.
In addition, the leaf veins "reticulated veins" are hand embroidered using tailored techniques such as "Hasashi" and hand stitches to represent the LEAF VEIN collection.
It has aspects that lead to ancient Japanese "folk art", and not only that, but by combining the industrial sewing machines that Mr. Watanabe has collected, "handicraft" = craft "industrial product" = product. It's become a worn-out clothes.
Super ultra hyper, really swastika clothes.
First of all, let me introduce you to the "fabric" that expresses the foundation.
As I briefly touched on the other day, this original COTTLE fabric is made by my favorite "Kaneta Orimono" located in Kakegawa City, Shizuoka Prefecture.
Kaneta's fabrics have a wonderful texture that cannot be found anywhere else in the world.
Knowing this, I can't go back. Say it clearly. THE END.
No, the start to paradise.
I already like Kaneta-san's fabrics so much that even if I didn't know that in advance, recently I've come to the point where I can tell when I touch some of them.
It's so distinctive.
It's like the potential of the material is manifested in a divine way. It's already dangerous.
Well, Kaneta's collection started with this "LEAF VEIN" expression.
Let me introduce you from the mix ratio of the fabric.
"37% hemp, 33% cotton, 30% silk"
this material.
In the history of mankind, it is a mixed rate that no one has ever seen before.
On top of that, the quality of raw materials is endless.
When I first saw this fabric, it was definitely a fabric sample, but it was almost a year ago.
I thought I was going to lose my waist.
Astonished.
Even though it happened about a year ago, I still remember it vividly, as if it happened just a moment ago.
I probably like fabrics a little more than other people, so once I see such a shocking fabric, I will never forget it.
That's why I've never forgotten the memory of seeing the fabric at that time and the feeling of touching it, even for a single day. A level that can be said.
Well, this isn't just an outlandish mix.
Mr. Kaneta's technology, which Japan is proud of, and Mr. Watanabe's aesthetics, were combined with each other, and after repeated research, it was completed.
Mr. Watanabe of COTTLE aims for texture, texture, comfort, strength, and beauty when dyeing.
And when you touch the linen fabric of the horse merchant coat from 100 years ago, you can feel the luster and density, and the moist feeling on your skin.
Even after such a long period of time, we create a "plain fabric" that has a "raw feeling".
It is in "plain" that the essence that cannot be deceived appears.
In order to achieve this, based on Watanabe's experience so far, hemp, cotton and silk are combined.
So it seems that the prototype was repeated.
Let me introduce each material.
First, hemp occupies the most blended rate.
This is not just hemp.
In the first place, as Mr. Yamauchi of Yamauchi said, hemp is very suitable for the hot and humid climate of Japan.
In addition, it gives the fabric a beautiful natural knot pattern and firmness, which is the goal of LEAF VEIN.
The hemp is the finest thing called "Hardman's Hemp".
Hemp spun by a company called Hardmans.
Hardman's was founded in 1835 as a spinning company specializing in linen.
Nowadays, it seems that it is not spun in England, but because of its high quality, it produces yarn that is said to be "Rolls Royce of linen".
"Hardman's Hemp" made by a spinning company with that know-how.
I've heard of Hardman's Linen, but Cottle's is "Hardman's Hemp"
Moreover, since linen and hemp are stems of plants, the thickness of the fibers is much thicker than that of cotton, which uses fluff.
However, if you use it well, it will create a unique pattern and a unique firmness.
In the prototype, he tried to use the thick hemp thread, but it was not what he was aiming for.
That's how I searched and arrived at "Hardman's Hemp", an ultra-fine count among the "100th" hemp.
I saw this for the first time in my life.
In addition, Hardman's has a "Gold Label" attached to very thin threads among linen counts of 60 and above.
Of course, the hemp that COTTLE uses this time is Gold Label "100 Hardman's Hemp".
It is a thread that can never be made without the combination of high-quality spinning technology and overwhelmingly high-quality raw materials that have been carefully selected from all over the world.
Such 100 count single yarn "Hardman's Hemp" is the weft.
The next most popular blend is cotton.
This is a cotton called "Ultimate Pima".
Of course, super long cotton.
This Ultimate Pima is a "specialty cotton" cultivated by Mr. Dorsey Alvarez, a farmer in New Mexico, USA.
At our store, clothes made from Ultimate Pima are sometimes lined up throughout the year.
It's a cotton variety that I really like, so when it's used, I buy it. smile
Of course, it is one of the organic cottons grown by organic farming methods without using pesticides, and it is the cotton that has its roots in Sea Island cotton.
The United States has a considerable share of cotton cultivation in the world, but was it most of them? A variety called "Upland Cotton".
Compared to the Upland variety, the cultivation period is one month longer, and the rationality of harvesting is also lower.
The characteristics of Ultimate Pima are that it is cultivated in the highlands of New Mexico with a large temperature difference, so the cotton fibers are all hollow inside, but the hollow rate of the fibers is high, and it is firm. It is firm and retains its tough and beautiful appearance for a very long time.
According to Mr. Watanabe of COTTLE, it has the characteristic of "beautifying with age" and the ability to retain quality, which tends to occur with other organic cotton, as it does not become stiff or stiff as you wear it. .
I think so too, and I actually feel it myself with 100% Ultimate Pima fabric.
Until now, when it comes to cotton, I thought these three were the best: Svin Supreme, GIZA 45, and Sea Island.
So, from now on, I think Svin Supreme, GIZA 45, and Ultimate Pima will be the top three cottons in the world.
Warp its "Ultimate Pima", 80 count two-ply yarn.
And finally, the third material with a mixed ratio. "silk".
According to Mr. Watanabe of COTTLE, this was an indispensable material for creating the luster and texture of the fabric.
Furthermore, in order to compensate for the cool feeling of hardman's hemp of 100 count single yarn inserted in the weft and the feeling of cold in winter, silk protein with high moisture retention is used.
Place this on the "warp" like the Ultimate Pima.
The silk is not silk spun yarn or silk spun yarn with unevenness, but "raw silk" which is the most raw state of silk and has a strong luster. Raw silk is the thread that the silkworm spits out to become a chrysalis.
Then it completely covers your body.
It is called a cocoon ball, and all silk is made from that "cocoon ball".
The cocoon ball is made up of threads spewed out from the mouth of the silkworm, so it is placed in hot water and gradually loosened.
Little by little, the mass of the single fiber is dissolved in the hot water, and gently unraveled like a brush, finding the starting point of the fiber, and taking out a single long "silk fiber". .
The length of one fiber is astonishingly 1500m.
Likely long.
It's 1500 meters.
Also, there are two main types of fibers: "Short fiber = spun" and "Long fiber = filament". Among natural fibers, silk is the only "long fiber = filament".
A filament is a single long fiber that continues without interruption, and all other natural fibers are classified as "short fibers = spun".
By the way, most of the chemical fibers are long filaments.
Because solvents such as polymers and monomers are ejected from nozzles like showers.
Natural fibers such as cotton, wool, and linen are all fluff, body hair, and plant stems, and because they are short fibers, they cannot be used as "threads" unless they are spun.
But only silk can be used as filament. Because it is 1500m.
Raw silk is also a very Japanese fabric and has been widely used in Japanese clothing since ancient times.
Kimono and obi.
Isn't the beauty of kimono fabric unique?
Of course, there is also the appearance of traditional crafts such as Yuzen and tie-dyeing.
Originally, however, such kimonos were woven by hand.
Like a crane returning the favor.
As mentioned earlier, the weaver of this fabric this time is "Kaneta-san."
Most of Kaneta's looms are "shuttle looms".
A low-speed loom that creates selvedges on both ends of so-called "selvage" fabrics such as jeans.
Also known as an old-fashioned loom.
This is a loom with a structure similar to hand weaving, but it still has power.
Weaving "raw silk" with a "shuttle loom" is quite a hurdle.
It's still unspun yarn, and sometimes it's thin fiber.
The fineness of raw silk used in this LEAF VEIN is "21d/8".
In other words, 8 strands of raw silk with a thinness of 21 denier are arranged.
"Denier".
This is a notation used only for silk, which is the only filament fiber in natural fibers.
Other natural fibers are spun yarns of staple fibers, so they are indicated as "count". The "denier" means that "1 denier" is 9000m long and weighs 1g. With its length of 9000m, the raw silk this time weighs 21g.
That is "21 denier".
In short, 21d is thicker than 1d.
Denier means that the higher the number, the thicker the thread.
On the other hand, the notation used for short fibers, "count".
Here, in "cotton count".
Because there are various types such as hair count and hemp count.
Most cotton counts are written as "British cotton counts".
British cotton counts weigh 1 pound (453g) and have a length of 840 yards (768g).
In other words, the one that weighs 1 lb and is 1680 yards long is second.
yes. The larger the number, the thinner the thread.
Denier is the opposite.
It's very confusing.
There is a calculation formula for converting the 21 denier raw silk this time into the British cotton count, but if you do the calculation with that, it will be "253 count".
So thin. extraordinarily thin.
It is impossible to weave such a thing with a shuttle.
Therefore, in order to increase the strength, 8 raw silks are attached.
8 strands of 253 count raw silk.
In other words, roughly "the 32nd bundle of raw silk" is completed.
Well, I think it's pretty complicated, so it's ridiculous. It's good if you think about it.
Moreover, it's not a kimono, and it's only used for mixed weaving on a shuttle.
It's flying without a hitch.
Kaneta-san has achieved a level that no one can imitate by weaving high-quality yarns of relatively thick counts, such as 30 counts or 40 counts, into extremely dangerous fabrics at high density.
However, thin raw silk breaks during weaving. Mr. Kaneta's craftsmen were always attached to the loom, and it seems that every time the raw silk was cut, it had to be spliced by hand.
Every time the raw silk breaks, the loom is stopped and the threads are tied by hand.
This process is the fusion of "handicraft" and "industrial products" that COTTLE is aiming for, and even if it takes time and money, it is said that it is an absolutely non-negotiable point when it comes to fabrics.
This time, COTTLE produced the fabric at Kaneta Orimono.
I think that this is a wonderful quality that will impress everyone when they see it, touch it, wear it, and wear it for a long time. .
"100 count single yarn Hardman's hemp weft" "80 count two-ply Ultimate Pima warp" "21d/8 raw silk warp" These three materials all have a meaning, and this combination makes it possible to arrive. Astonishing "LEAF VEIN" fabric.
The visual expression, its texture, and the power of each of the three materials.
I don't think I'll be able to find such a level fabric with such a vector in the future, other than COTTLE.
COTTLE's SenkohSuiu, "LEAF VEIN" using that amount of fabric.
Based on that, Mr. Watanabe's "thought" and "hands" are added to complete it.
Please stay tuned.
I will introduce you later.