"ARCHIVES" represents our original collection of bags made from unique textiles that showcase individuality through advanced techniques. This initiative aims to convey the brilliance of Japanese textiles and create new demand.
Hisae Shigematsu / D&DEPARTMENT Fashion Coordinator
Compared to 10 years ago, there seem to be more government initiatives and younger people promoting the revitalization of local industries. However, the current situation remains challenging. In the midst of this, there are producers who are tirelessly creating "specialty fabrics" with distinctive features that attract global attention, even though their scale may be small. While visiting these regions, we discovered "specialty fabrics" that couldn't be included in our project due to budget constraints, and we feel a strong desire to preserve these fabrics, as they may one day become unavailable. We want to share the existence of these remarkable fabrics with many people and hope that they become a part of everyday life. By offering them as products, we believe it could provide an opportunity for people to order the fabric, enabling the producers to continue their work. With this in mind, we have created the "ARCHIVES" series, and hope that you will enjoy these custom-made legacy bags, each made from their uniquely rich fabric, like individual treasures.
"We believe it is necessary to utilize dead stock and at the same time continue to create new fabrics,
while inheriting this production technology."
In the course of our activity over the past 10 years, we have felt the crisis that the dead stock is gradually disappearing from Japan,
and the number of weaving factories and craftsmen is decreasing year by year, so that the fabrics of those days can no longer be produced today.
Fabrics that are woven with high technology and take a long time to produce are more expensive. But in today's apparel industry, fast fashion, which can be mass-produced at low cost in a short period of time, has become mainstream. And there are no orders for beautiful fabrics full of individuality made with advanced techniques, so many factories are shutting down their machines and going out of business. Without creating demand, the Japanese textile industry itself will disappear. Aware of this situation, we are starting an activity called "ARCHIVES" to communicate the excellence of Japanese weaving techniques and create new demand.
Movie: Canale in Ichinomiya City, Aichi Prefecture
The Bishu region of Ichinomiya City, Aichi Prefecture, has been a textile production area since old times. In the Meiji era (1868-1912), it was one of the first to focus on the wool industry in response to the trend toward Western-style clothing, becoming the largest wool producer in Japan. Founded in 1997, Canale weaves slowly at low speeds on over 50-year-old Schönherr looms, adding handicraft and finishing to create an exceptional textile.
*You may select your bag from 10 distinct types of fabric. Please keep in mind that you can't customize the dimensions or design. The colors of photographs may vary depending on the shooting conditions, lighting, viewing environment (desktop monitor or smartphone screen), etc. Please note that there may be slight differences in color and texture between the photo and the actual item.
See All Products
