Releases from Studio D’Artisan and Samurai
This week, we have assembled a release showcasing Japan’s history through its exceptional ability to create the world’s finest and most specialized heritage garments. From Studio D’Artisan, we present a range of never-before-seen limited editions, including denim, shirting, and outerwear. Samurai offers some of the most remarkable basics resulting from a 15-year effort to revive cotton cultivation for a fully made-in-Japan product that hasn’t been available for nearly a century. These are staple, special, sturdy, and storied pieces you’ll never regret acquiring, only parting with.
Samurai
In the type of tale we can relate to, which begins with a wild vision and turns into a modern odyssey, Toru Nogami has reestablished native cotton production in Japan. This endeavor, which goes entirely against the momentum of environmental and modern cultivation standards, has not only been successful but also yields some of the most interesting fibers we’ve ever seen. Through years of struggle and learning, the Samurai Cotton Project has revived an ancient Japanese cotton strain that is entirely organic and hand-cultivated, producing an impressively compact short fiber with immense durability and insulating qualities.
These fibers are spun in Sasayama, the yarns are woven in Wakayama, and the garment is cut, sewn, and dyed in Kyoto, ensuring that every element and stage comes from Japan. We are pleased to present these inherently distinctive basics, featuring the Long Sleeve T-Shirt in an undyed Natural hue that showcases all the specks and flecks of raw cotton, as well as Kuromame brown charcoal, which utilizes extracts from native black soybeans for its pigments. The Short Sleeve Henley is available in Light Kuri, a light tan derived from local Tamba chestnuts, creating an aged appeal in this vintage-inspired piece, complete with a twill-woven three-button placket.
Studio D’Artisan
For the most impressive apparel collection that Studio D’Artisan has developed in years, this latter part of their 45th Anniversary collection showcases an array of exclusive fabrics and pieces we’ve been dreaming about since their reveal. Starting with outerwear, the Ainu Blanket Jacket and Shirt feature heavyweight woolen designed to merge motifs and characteristics from the indigenous people of Japan with inspirations from Native American blankets and garments. Honoring times and cultures that span centuries and continents, this jacquard-loomed Ainu blanket has a textured pattern in rich, iconic shades of navy and indigo blue. It is aligned and pattern-matched into these simple, remarkable, and incredibly wearable iconic pieces inspired by vintage work and hunting garments that will remain timeless.
In another homage to the ancient, the Arrow Yagasuri Sashiko cloth showcases a traditional native pattern achieved through the indigo kasuri dye technique, complemented by a jacquard-loomed box-weave sashiko that presents a multilayered texture and story. This pattern and cloth, reminiscent of the ancient samurai, are used to create a Western-inspired vest and shirt that blend Eastern and Western influences, as well as modern and heritage styles. The Heavyweight Sashiko Workshirt comes in rinsed deep Indigo and Washed Indigo, communicating different stages of a dutiful, flexible, and versatile styling piece with immense character. For the foundations of Studio D’Artisan, we offer limited editions with patina potential. Featuring the trademark true raw, loomstate quality of denim, the SD-808 Natural Indigo Relaxed Tapered and SP-108 Extreme Slub Regular Straight both use Kasezome-dyed indigo.