After touching on hand-sketched graphics and celebrated dye artist Yoshiko Jinzenji in recent Dissertations, the latest episode focuses on katazurizome dye, a process utilized to create the graphics in the brand’s Spring/Summer 2018 collection. A traditional Japanese process, katazurizome requires dye to be rubbed into a fabric through a stencil by use of a brush, instead of a handcraft spatula (“shugeiyo hera”). Stencils are created by pasting together Japanese paper using persimmon tannin, which is already quite time-consuming. Furthermore, the round brushes utilized to rub the dye into the textile differentiate by usage and artisan, resulting in completely distinct creations.
Head to visvim’s site to watch the technique in action. The Japanese brand recently announced plans to open a Los Angeles flagship.