The future of Japanese fashion: high-tech sustainable clothing

This article appears in Made in Japan, Vol. 4.
To read the full article, click here.

Japan is world-renowned for its experimental fashion. From Issey Miyake’s pleats to Rei Kawakubo’s convex and concave designs, Japan’s avant-garde silhouettes rose to fame in the 1990s, becoming a hallmark of a bold and innovative approach to clothing. Fast forward to the present, and designers are leading a new wave of experimentation, this time with a focus on materials. The global fashion industry is notorious for its impact on the environment: it is currently the world’s third-largest polluter. In light of this, Japan’s innovative spirit is increasingly turning to experimental, natural materials for future-proof fashion solutions.

The following four selections show the wonders of combining tradition and technology.

Fabric made from Curetex Japanese paper

Curetex: A surprisingly durable fabric made from paper

While paper may not seem like the first choice for clothing, we may see more of it in the near future. Several new paper-based materials have been developed in Japan recently, one example being Curetex, a fine yarn made from 100% Japanese washi paper, made by manufacturing company Cure Group Ltd. Since washi paper is easily woven into textiles, current paper textiles include socks, ties, handkerchiefs, and bags. Surprisingly, washi paper has many advantages when applied to wearable devices: breathability, moisture absorption, deodorization, and UV protection.

Washi has a long history in Japanese culture, including use in clothing; made from long fibers, it is strong and durable, and has a wide range of uses, including in fashion, and up until the Meiji era it was used for everything from underwear to hair accessories. The manufacturing process of Curetex is similar to the paper yarn used at the time, called masterMade by cutting paper into strips and twisting them tightly together, shifu is strong and durable. However, Curetex’s current processing technology has transformed washi yarn into a finer, modern material with a wider range of uses and future potential.

For more information about Curetex, visit its website.

Day 9: Gorgeous floral print denim

Tokyo brand 9-jour has launched a fashionable and eco-friendly jeans made of a material called Shinmano Smoothing.

Originally developed at Mie University, Shinmanseung is inspired by the vibrant colors of kimonos before the introduction of synthetic dyes. The process combines ancient knowledge with contemporary environmental goals; it uses less pigment and requires no chemical fixatives, yet produces colors that are vibrant and lustrous. Even more impressive, the technique uses only plant materials.

In adopting this dyeing method, 9-jour tried various flower/plant combinationsresulting in a range of bright and brilliant colours that take selvedge denim to the next level. In an age where chemical dyes are polluting the world’s waterways, 9-jour’s philosophy is a breath of fresh air: it claims to produce no hazardous waste or water pollution during its manufacturing process, and the brand’s fair trade jeans come in classic, unisex cuts designed to stand the test of time.

Customers can select and pre-order their favorite colors at the brand’s Omotesando showroom. Dyeing and production are carried out in small batches throughout the year according to seasonal changes.

Check out 9-jour’s colorful wares on their website.

© Yuma Nakazato

Yuima Nakazato: Architecture, Futurism, and All-Natural Textiles

Designer Yuima Nakazato’s ‘bionic’ materials are an experimental feat, first unveiled through a series of sculptural designs in her AW 21/22 collection. Bionics is a term coined by Nakazato, and it involves combining traditional textiles, such as Nishijin ori, a Kyoto kimono fabric, with plant-based fibers developed by Japanese company Spiber. These fibers replicate natural materials such as wool and cashmere, but they require 97% less water and 99% less land in the production process than animal-based materials.

Nakazato’s fabrics are printed with UV reactive inks, which shrink to create deep lines of rigid grooves and a rich kaleidoscope of colour. Always experimenting with mixed fibres and techniques – for AW 22/23 he applied traditional Japanese lacquer to some of his garments – Nakazato continues to push the limits of textile design by combining technology with tradition.

To see more of Nakazato’s beautiful work, visit his website.

Eggshell Silk: Silk made from eggshells

Redefining what we think of as futuristic, ‘Ovoveil’ is a new silk-like material made from eggshell membranes and produced by Kyoto-based company Pharma Foods. Ovoveil made its New York Fashion Week debut four months ago, in the form of a printed ‘silk’ cape at the AW 24/25 show of upcoming label Sound Of Ikebana by Naoko Tosa.

Japan reportedly uses 2.63 million tonnes of eggs each year, generating 260,000 tonnes of eggshell waste. Recognising this, Pharma Foods began to consider further potential uses for eggshells, and discovered that the thin film layer inside the egg has antibacterial and UV protection properties. When made into fibres, Ovoveil is described as having a “slippery” and silky feel, and recent tests have shown that it can improve the skin’s moisture barrier after long-term wear.

The biomaterial has FSC-certified sustainability credentials and is significantly cheaper to produce than silk, demonstrating that sustainability need not come at the expense of comfort or luxury.

Learn more about the creation of Ovoveil on the Pharma Foods website.