23SS HINOKI Dyed Wear Series

23SS HINOKI Dyed Wear Series

What kind of world would open up if we could utilize ancient Japanese dyeing techniques for MOMOTARO JEANS' products?

This thought led us to the Hinoki tree, which has a connection with Okayama, and we came up with this project.

Five items were dyed in a special way using the bark of the Okayama cypress tree.

The lineup consists of five items: a work shirt, jacket, and pants made of hickory stripe fabric as the base fabric, and a work jacket and pants
made of sashiko (stitching) fabric as the base fabric.

Okayama Prefecture is one of the leading cypress-producing areas in Japan, and in 2021 it was ranked first in Japan in terms of production.

The bark of the cypress tree excels as a dye and is popularly known as "hiwadairo," a very traditional Japanese color.

The cypress trees used in this project are 40-50 years old and have reached the optimum age for logging. The bark, which would usually be
discarded, is used for dyeing. These are eco-friendly and sustainable products.

This is a hickory fabric jacket that has been sewn before the dyeing process.

It is washed once to make it easier to dye the color.

It looks beautiful hanging here quietly and dignified.

The material for dyeing is approximately 10 kg of cypress bark grown in the mountain forests of the northern Okayama Prefecture.

This is then steamed to extract the dye solution. The process of extracting, dyeing, and washing is repeated to fix the color, and then the fabric
is finished.

The extracted liquid has a scent of cypress, but no scent remains in the product after processing. This ensures that the products can be worn
safely by those who are sensitive to fragrance and so that the fragrance does not migrate to other clothing.

These GTB HINOKI DYED SASHIKO PANTS are made after the dyeing process and taken out of the kettle. The combination of the
three-dimensional fabric and GTB paint is unique. The white GTB strips looks great on the fabric dyed with the unique color of Japanese
cypress.

Normally, MOMOTARO JEANS GTB stripes are applied after completion, but this time, the painting is done before the dyeing process, which
is a little unusual.

After all the dyeing processes are completed, the product is hung on hangers to dry.

The finished color is unique, yet gentle. Although there is no scent of cypress on the dyed garments after dyeing, a sweet, woody aroma like
that of a cypress bath permeates the factory during the dyeing process.

The color, which is the result of repeated sample production while focusing on a light, warm reddish-brown level, is a perfect match for denim
products.