Episode 3: The Appeal of Materials
The planning team is currently working on selecting materials for AW24.
In order to know the whole process of making clothes, I always accompany the business meeting with the fabric shop. The director touches several kinds of black fabrics that look the same, sometimes about 300 pieces in an hour, and chooses the one that catches his eye and says, "This one is the best!" It seems that the director has an unknown special sensor in his fingertips. He encourages me to touch them, but no matter how I touch them, they feel the same. The more I touch them, the more they feel the same. I think it would be cool if I could tell the difference between fabrics, but it seems that I still have a long way to go. One day, he showed me several kinds of fabrics with silk warp threads and polyester weft threads. Among them, there was one that felt completely different even though it was supposed to be made of the same material. Maybe the sensor in my fingertips is starting to wake up little by little. Anyway, I was curious about it, so I asked the director later, and he said that this is what it was like.
--- By changing the thickness and density of the warp and weft threads, the look and thickness of the material changes. The choice of thread determines the final product, so the choice of thread and density (number of threads per thread) are used to determine the thickness. This is linked to the weave of the fabric, such as twill, plain, or satin, and is determined by the design or item that is desired to be created. This is done by requesting the fabric from a production area that specializes in the area (Oshu, Omi, Kiryu Hamamatsu, Okayama, Wakayama), but even within the same production area, the texture will vary depending on the fabric manufacturer.
―――
Did you know? Apparently the director carefully selects the best materials proposed, produced using the processing methods that each manufacturer is good at, and then decides in his mind, "Let's make this item with this material this season." It's hard to remember, but when you look at the materials after understanding all of that, it's actually quite fun. Speaking of fun, many of the fabric stores are in places I don't usually go to, so I secretly look forward to lunch after business meetings. Today, after a business meeting, I stopped by a restaurant in Ebisu that the director frequents and had some really delicious pasta. This should help me work hard in the afternoon!
