An OD+ZT Collaboration | The Natural Indigo Kasuri Sashiko Down Vest

A marriage of textile tradition & ultimate function.

Continuing onwards on our journey exploring traditional Japanese fabrics, we team up again with outdoor aficionados Zanter in order to harmoniously bring together timeless textiles with unbeatable functionality. For this project, we opted to use a fabric that we had sourced directly from Tsujimura-Ai - a small, family-owned fabric mill based out of Hamamatsu, Shizuoka. From dyeing the cotton yarns in-house in Natural Indigo, spinning the yarns in preparation for weaving, to the actual weaving on the shuttle looms, Tsujimura-Ai is everything you would imagine them to be and more. Meticulous, mindful and positive in everything they do, Tsujimura-Ai produce sashiko patterns rarely seen elsewhere. Currently in its third generation of ownership, the two brothers are weaving indigo sashiko fabrics in the same way their forefathers did before them, preserving an element of Japanese cultural heritage that we cherish and admire. Despite their sheer number of beautifully woven fabrics, it wasn't hard to narrow it down to a Natural Indigo Kasuri Sashiko fabric we opted to use for the outer body of the vest.

Producing Kasuri (絣) fabrics involves very labor intensive steps, and requires meticulous planning and expertise in order to produce the intricate patterns seen. As part of the planning phase, a very intricate arrangement of yarns are selected in order to produce the desired 3D effect seen in this Kōshi (Plaid) pattern. The Natural Indigo dyed yarns are carefully dyed to varying hues prior to them being tediously arranged on the vintage power looms responsible for weaving the fabric. In this particular case, pattern has undyed yarns featured in the warp, further accentuating the texture of the unique 3D check pattern of the vest.

“Oshima Tsumugi” is a form of handwoven Kimono textilecraft that has a history dating back to the 1700s, and utilizing a style of weave unique to the island of Amami-Oshima. Some of you may have heard of this island in previous blog posts and listings on our site, as it is the birthplace and currently at the forefront of Dorozome. Alongside Dorozome though, the island has always been the production hub for this meticulously constructed kimono fabric, usually taking months to create enough fabric for a single kimono. While the core difference between a hand loom weaving Oshima-Tsumugi Kimono fabric, and a shuttle loom weaving Selvedge denim is the mechanization element of a shuttle loom, the nature of the woven fabric featuring a self-finishing edge is the same. Selvedge denim is typically woven at a width of 112-116cm, and a legnth of 50 meters. Hand woven kimono fabrics are woven on realtively narrow hand looms, yielding a fabric that is roughly 36cm in width, and usually at a length of 13 meters. The limited yardage of these hand woven kimono fabrics further limit their reappropriation for garment driven projects like this one.

Scouring flea markets and fabric dealers over the years, we’ve managed to build up an arsenal of said vintage kimono fabrics, waiting for the right opportunity to use them. For this project, the stars aligned for us when we paired the Oshima Tsumugi deadstock we had on hand with the outer fabric and lining. While subtle, the unique fabric we selected for the neck lining adds a superb element of color pop, while also giving this historical fabric a new lease of life.

Sizing

An OD+ZT Collaboration | The Natural Indigo Kasuri Sashiko Down Vest

The OD+ZT Natural Indigo Kasuri Sashiko Down Vest drops on 2/6 @Midnight (JST)

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