Sashiko Hoodie

It’s a completely new approach to adding strength to materials inspired by the ancient Japanese art of sashiko.

The technique of sashiko, or ‘little stabs,’ is a highly resilient form of embroidery developed during the Japanese Edo period to repair torn and damaged clothes. Instead of today’s invisible mending, sashiko highlighted the rips, tears, frays and fringes of a piece of clothing, reinventing it with stitching in a contrasting thread. This simple ‘running stitch’ technique, used in repeating or interlocking patterns, not only gave clothes individual style, but also made them warmer, stronger and longer-lasting.

The traditional geometric patterns of sashiko included arrows, lightning and bamboo as popular motifs. Our stitching pattern is based on the Vollebak ‘V’. The stitching is denser towards the hem of the hoodie, and sparser at the elbows. This maximises movement and strengthens the areas where it’s needed most.

High strength, flame-retardant aramid fibres are conventionally used to make clothing worn by military personnel, firefighters and industrial workers whose lives depend on protection against fires and electrical arcs. While we’ve used these materials to make some of our other ultra-tough clothing before, we’re pretty sure our Sashiko Hoodie is the first time that a single piece of clothing has been reinforced with 4.5 kilometres of meta-aramid stitching.

The Sashiko Hoodie is made from heavyweight 470g, 100% organic cotton, knitted in the mountains of northern Italy. The cotton-jersey is built using densely knitted yarn to create a fabric that’s more resistant to wear and pilling.

Garbage was almost non-existent in the Edo period. They didn’t just recycle and reuse. They understood that everything had a value and that living happily and within their means was a virtue. Repair and reuse businesses were everywhere. Enterprising samurai would turn busted bamboo umbrella frames into kindling, carefully unpicking oiled parasols and turning them into special wrapping paper. ‘Geta no haire,’ or wooden clog repairers, would travel door-to-door. And if your kettle or old pot sprung a leak, an ‘ikake,’ or metal repairer, was never far away.

Clothing was the ultimate non-disposable product. Traditional kimonos were cut straight in equal proportions with no waste, so they were standardised goods – a significant point of difference with Western clothing. If Western clothes were disassembled they would be different sizes and could not be recycled the way kimonos were – effectively making them single-use items.