Into the Blue: A Journey to Mie

Above: The new indigo-dyed Kimono dress from the Series No. 25 collection

 

like blue sky
the summer kimono
I’m wearing
一茶 Issa (18th-19th century)

 

flower.  fluid.  fibre. Through dyeing, indigo transfers its memory of sky and water to cloth—staining it the color of cloudless pale blue or deep midnight. The longer fabric bathes in indigo, the more the pigment, like a spell or shadow, deepens. The color of the Zen Buddhist rakusu, indigo is an ancient and sacred hue. 

 

 

Indigo from the workshop's garden.

I traveled earlier this year to Mie prefecture, Japan, where I had the opportunity to work with Kyoko san, a skilled artisan who cultivates her own indigo: she grows her own plants, makes the dye, and hand-dips each individual piece of fabric. Every piece is touched by her hands. 

 

Discussing fabrics with Kyoko san. 

Indigo dyeing, like the making of Chinese mud silk, is an ancient technique. Mie Prefecture is a historical center of indigo, where textiles are also dedicated to Ise Shrine, one of Japan's most important sites of worship.

 

At Ise Shrine, monks perform a purification ceremony; the Kagura-den structure, used for sacred dance and music; an Edo-era painting of pilgrims en route to the shrine. 

 

We brought our own fabric, including raw silk, Japanese cotton, and cashmere. To ensure evenness of tone, only two yards can be dyed at a time. 

 

Selecting and cutting the fabrics into dyeable pieces.

The basic process of natural dyeing (versus synthetic dyeing) begins with the harvest of the leaves of the Japanese indigo plant Persicaria tinctoria, a period of fermentation, and preparation of the dyeing mixture in the vat. The fabric is alternately bathed, and then dried in the garden, a series of times. 

 

Working towards just the right hue. 

In the workshop garden is a cherry tree, its blossoms on the verge of bursting into bloom—all the expanding, unfurling spring energy infusing the cloth. The fragrance of indigo is that of earthiness. I feel when you wear these pieces, you are wearing a landscape.

Series No. 25, including our indigo garments, launches with our Preview Show at Atelier Lan Jaenicke on June 12th, and will be available in shop and online June 13th. We invite you to immerse yourself in this ancient and sacred hue.