WALL WHITE HEM ｜ EVERY MONTH
Color shifts.
A white edge.
And a perfect balance – between ink and space, machine and the human hand.
WALL WHITE HEM is a new series by HaaT, shaped by the crafted layering of three tonal shades onto white textile surfaces by specialist artisans in Kyoto.
Organic, irregular and natural: the fabric is imbued with a rare textural depth through its overlaid colors, with painterly abstractions of monochrome gradations juxtaposed with pure white borders.For HaaT, a brand rooted in textile innovations expressed through timeless craftsmanship, key to the creative process is the foundational fabric. The WALL WHITE HEM series uses a chiffon made from cotton blended with a touch of silk – light and airy, cool and breathable, with a subtly textured finish.
The series comes to life in a specialist dyeing factory in southern Kyoto. Here, among time-etched machines, ink-filled buckets and softly filtered sunlight, the white textile is rolled out on a 10m-long conveyor belt.Helmed by skilled experts with decades of experience, the screen-printing process involves carefully pouring dye onto 60cm-wide panels of fabric – with artisans meticulously monitoring the flow of the dye, spreading it by hand using a small spatula to ensure its unique textural effect.
As one artisan explains, pausing from pouring dye onto textiles: “The weather, the temperature at that moment – everything impacts the dyeing process. The machinery is also like an extension of my hands, a part of my body. All these elements need to be in harmony.”
Dyes in three tonal variations of the same shade – either forest-like greens, deep greys or inky navy blues – are carefully layered onto the textile surface. Once completed, the fabric rolls along the conveyor belt and the process is repeated on the next panel – with artisans paying particular attention to aligning patterns between panels.
Next, a cycle of steaming, washing and drying unfolds to seal the dyeing process – and the textile is then ready to be transformed into garments: long and short shirts, skirts, tunics and stoles, all with a tactile edge.
Elemental to the balance of the design is the white margin at the edges – with blocks of color giving way to the stillness of empty space. The sense of softness is enhanced further by placing the dyed textile over a plain white fabric.
Slow, meticulous, unrushed: it’s a process, rooted in innovation and craftsmanship – embodying a quiet dialogue between human touch and technology.
KUMOSHIBORI ｜EVERY WEEK
Arimatsu-shibori is the general term for the cotton shibori (tie-dyeing) conducted in the Arimatsu-cho and Narumi-cho areas of Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture. It began and flourished in the early Edo period (1603-1867), when shibori hand towels and other such items were sold as souvenirs to travelers on the Tokaido Highway. Since then, Arimatsu-shibori has been mass-produced in more than 100 different types of shibori patterns using various methods such as tying, sewing, and binding the cloth. Kumo-shibori, one of these patterns, is known as the most common tie-dye design.
For Kumo-shibori, part of the cloth is tied by hand and dyed. After dyeing, the tied part is untied and a spiderweb pattern is revealed (kumo means spider in Japanese ). However, HaaT focuses on the shibori in its tied state, and aims to make the beautiful, organic form of the shibori be remembered in the garments. Created based on this aim, the KUMOSHIBORI series applies the shape-memory property of polyester and incorporates the bumps of the shibori into the design.
KUMOSHIBORI has now become a staple HaaT series. We have continued to use the small Kumo-shibori bumps to add charming decoration to the neck areas and hems of clothing.
KYO CHIJIMI ｜EVERY DAY
Twisted threads.
Pure mountain water.
A lightness to the touch.
Vivid tones.
Time unrushed.
An elemental harmony between humans and nature shapes HaaT’s KYO CHIJIMI collections. Each unique piece comes to life through a blend of centuries-old weaving craftsmanship, progressive dyeing technology and the energy of nature. The result is a textile tinged with a deep natural beauty. It's organic and textured, light and breathable, irregular and ever-changing with time, in a rich spectrum of shades – just like in nature. The story starts in Takashima, a small city on the western shores of Lake Biwa, a serene, still expanse of water wrapped in mountains, just north of Kyoto in Shiga Prefecture. Here, life revolves around water. The peaceful region is steeped in stories, rituals, myths, traditions tethered to the lake that nourishes it.
Lake Biwa is fed by flows of spring water, purified through deep layers of ancient mountains. For centuries, this water has fuelled a rich daily landscape in Takashima – from the cultivation of a local hemp known as Omi jofu to fishing traditions and seasonal festivals. The spring water has long been used by local chijimi fabric weavers. The water’s purity has countless benefits – from prevention of thread breakages to the natural control of temperature and humidity when worn. Pure water is elemental to the beauty of HaaT’s KYO CHIJIMI. Artisans skilfully weave the cotton textile with countless twists and gaps in the weft thread, fuelling a lightness to the touch with minimal skin contact. Spring water is carefully passed through the fabric, causing it to shrink by half. This creates a unique puckering and organic pleating effect with an unevenness more typically found in nature than manufactured items.
Color is also key. The journey continues at a specialist dyeing factory, surrounded by the majesty of the Tateyama mountains in Toyama Prefecture, a central region overlooking the Sea of Japan. Here, artisans follow a meticulous dyeing process again deeply entwined with nature. Water from a well is cleaned in an outdoor purification system exposed to the elements (skies, sun, wind) before being used to dye the textiles. Artisans use beakers to formulate cocktails of colors, transforming blends from up to 70 inks into an infinite range of one-of-a-kind shades (there are more than 10 different blacks alone). These colors are softly gradated with an unusually intense depth, mirroring the changing seasons of the natural world.
The dyeing process itself is slow, unrushed and carefully nurtured – just like a mother tending her baby, as local artisans say. Textiles are first touched and hand-checked for tangles and wrinkles before being bleached. Then, as dyeing begins, craftsmen adopt a mindfully slow pace. The dyebath is set at an optimum temperature and submerged textiles are checked regularly to ensure the colors smoothly permeate all its uneven textures. These elements combine to create the original beauty of KYO CHIJIMI textiles – pure and natural, unique and vivid, each one rooted in nature and harmonized with a human touch.
