MIKAWA COTTON

MIKAWA COTTON aims at the space between worn-out loungewear and getting properly dressed. The maker describes it not as clothing for standing out, but as design for quiet moments of daily life: an afternoon reading on the sofa, a weekend walk, a trip to the neighbourhood café.

A setup built around ease

The set consists of a shirt-style haori (a jacket-like top) and wide trousers. Worn together, they form a loose setup with a Japanese sensibility; worn separately, they are meant to pair with everyday inners and shoes. The silhouette is deliberately relaxed without being sloppy, and the maker positions the design as gender-neutral, letting the wearer rather than a men's or women's label define the look. Sizes are offered in M, L and LL.

The fabric: Mikawa cotton

Mikawa cotton is a representative woven cotton of the Mikawa region of Aichi Prefecture. Cotton growing and weaving flourished there in the Edo period, and in the Meiji era the names "Mikawa cotton" and "Mikawa stripe" spread nationwide. According to the maker, the fabric used here feels soft yet keeps a woven surface texture, is durable and breathable, and becomes more comfortable against the skin the more it is worn. The maker suggests it suits spring, autumn and mild summer days.

Rather than printed patterns, the garments draw on the texture of the weave and the region's traditional vertical stripes, a subtle detail that reveals itself up close.

• Colours: sumi black, indigo and deep green, inspired by subdued tones of Japanese landscapes and daily life
• Pieces: shirt-style haori and wide trousers
• Sizes: M, L, LL
• Production: fabric and garment manufacturing carried out in Japan, according to the maker

The result, as the maker frames it, is less a recreation of traditional dress than an attempt to bring an old regional cloth into clothes people actually want to wear now.