MAKERS | ASIA & PACIFIC | JAPAN | WEAVING

 

HOSOO | Weavers

 

 

A centuries-old company specializing in superior quality fabrics, HOSOO attracts a high-end clientele of leading interior and fashion designers. But this is recently; before, the customers were aristocrats, shoguns and none other than the Japanese imperial family. The true preciousness of HOSOO fabrics is difficult to capture in photographs, but guarantees a wonderful surprise in person - when you notice their astonishing three-dimensionality and the way they change as light falls.

To tell the story of HOSOO, one has to go back a long way in time, to 1688, the year the company was founded. The district of Nishijin, Kyoto, was already renowned for the quality of its textile production, specifically, a very complex fabric produced in various manufactures. It was a 1000-year-old technique, associated with the imperial house and the patronage of aristocrats and shoguns.

The production of Nishijin textiles is based on an exceptionally refined division of labor, where over 20 specialized processes are entrusted to individual artisans. The intuition and consequent specialization was then perfected from generation to generation, up to unparalleled levels of excellence, which explains its consistent high quality. Great efforts have been made not to distort HOSOO's heritage, while continuing to push for innovation.

 

 

Approximately 20 steps, and 20 people, are necessary to achieve the finished product. Their skills are constantly tested by commissions from international designers and architects seeking meticulous quality and tradition, adapted to their needs. The charm immediately recognizable even to someone inexperienced is the three-dimensionality of the fabric, which, taken to the extreme, produces exceptional, sculptural results.

But there is also a more philosophical, sophisticated way of describing this textile and its culture. It can be said that both the south-east Asian concept of space (and lack of) and a European aesthetic of composition and balance influences the plot. HOSOO not only preserves the Nishijin traditional techniques, but also actively explores new possibilities in dyeing and weaving.

As part of this initiative, HOSOO STUDIES was established - a research and development program that collaborates with universities, companies, researchers, and artists both in Japan and internationally. Currently, HOSOO is engaged in around 10 ongoing projects under this initiative. They describe the mission as, “beauty yet to be discovered”.

A poetic way of interpreting the fabric, and the phases that precede it, is demonstrated by the words of Masataka Hosoo, head of the brand: "If I had not followed the footsteps of tradition, I would have become a musician. There is in fact a proven correlation between the art of weaving and musical composition… they have many elements in common, such as rhythm, repetition and intervals. Textiles, in a way, are visual music."

 

Interview by Sara Pierdonà
Images from Mark Luscombe-Whyte 

EXPLORE THE ATLAS

Join the Cabana family

×