A woman suffering from atopic dermatitis found relief in the gentleness of silk, which sparked a challenge to connect Kiryu's traditional techniques with modern lifestyles.
The crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic, paradoxically, opened up a new future for establishing a new silk brand with the concept of "casual silk."
200 silkworms' lives are embodied in a single pair of pants. Respect for life means not even discarding scraps. What kind of new story for silk textiles is emerging from Kiryu, looking out to the world?
Mr. Tetsuya Abe
Managing Director of Kiryu Seisen Shoji Co., Ltd. in Kiryu City, Gunma Prefecture. Inheriting his family's weaving techniques and knowledge of silk, he is a pioneer who also oversees transactions with domestic manufacturers and the development of the company's own apparel brand.
Ms. Yuki Kawakami
Project leader for Kiryu Seisen Shoji's in-house brand, SILKKI. She is passionate about creating sustainable products that can be cherished for a long time instead of being disposable, and that eventually return to nature.
(*Article content based on interviews at the time)
#5 What Atopic Dermatitis Taught Me: The Gentleness of Silk
Sudden onset of atopic dermatitis 4 months after moving to Kiryu, experiencing the power of materials
──What inspired you to launch a silk brand?
Ms. Kawakami:
About four months after I moved to Kiryu, I suddenly developed atopic dermatitis. My face became completely red.
That's when I suffered from atopic dermatitis for about five years. I tried many different things, and then a friend told me, "Silk is really good for your skin."
At first, I tried a health method called "Hie-tori" (coldness prevention). The idea is to warm the lower half of your body, and for that, you use silk five-toe socks.
You wear these, and then you wear two more pairs over them.
The tips of your feet are the furthest from your heart, so they tend to get cold, which worsens overall blood circulation. But if your feet are warm, your body's heat warms up, and the important thing is to keep the lower half of your body warmer than the upper half.
Then the warmed heat escapes upwards, and since the top is cool, it circulates. I thought, "What is that?" (laughs)
──So you actually tried it (laughs).
Ms. Kawakami:
Yes. And it really worked immediately after I tried it.
Basically, my blood circulation was poor. From then on, my skin gradually improved, and I, who used to catch colds easily, became less susceptible to them. I thought, "What is this?"
That's when I had a significant experience that taught me just how beneficial and effective the functional properties of silk are.
Since our company originally made silk fabrics, I thought, "Can we make fabrics based on this idea?" That was the catalyst.
──What kind of functionalities does silk have?
Ms. Kawakami:
It releases heat and wicks away sweat. Conversely, when it gets cold, it effectively retains warmth and moisture. It controls heat. We say it "breathes," and that's the kind of effect it has.
Wool is actually similar; animal fibers have such characteristics, but silk's advantage lies in the fineness of its fibers. Silkworms and sheep are completely different in size, right? So the fineness of their fibers is also different. That's why silk fibers are incredibly fine.
Because they are fine, they don't itch. They are very smooth, and that's why silk is said to be good for people with atopic dermatitis. It's one of its functional properties that it can be used because it's non-irritating.
──What other functionalities does it have?
Ms. Kawakami:
Additionally, because it originally serves as a shelter to protect itself, it also has a UV-cutting effect, blocking ultraviolet rays.
Thanks to its ability to absorb moisture when needed and release it when not, bacteria don't multiply. Bacteria thrive when there's water, right? Molds and germs increase with humidity.
That's why it's called a bacteriostatic effect. Rather than antibacterial, it has a function that prevents further increase of bacteria.
Actually, I had acquired atopic dermatitis, but when I started using silk, it rapidly improved. That's when I first realized, "It really has functional properties."
#6 Half of Sales Gone. Masks Saved the Future of Silk
The COVID-19 crisis led to a new silk brand.
──Mr. Abe, what were your thoughts on starting a silk brand?
Mr. Abe:
I don't have atopic dermatitis, so I didn't understand it at first. But when I heard about it, there were children around me who suffered badly from atopic dermatitis, so I thought it could help people like them.
But most importantly, there are many people who have never touched silk. Especially young people.
When we decided on the concept of making silk casual, we definitely wanted young people to wear it. And also people with skin problems, we wanted them to wear it too.
Moreover, many of the apparel companies we work with often said, "We want to use silk, but it's too expensive."
If we run it as a factory brand, we can keep the prices as low as possible and deliver them to consumers. I thought, let's give this a try.
COVID-19 provided a good opportunity.
──So COVID-19 was the catalyst?
Mr. Abe:
Our main business completely stopped. Sales dropped by about half. It was a critical situation.
In the midst of that, what was entrusted to our industry was masks. These masks became a good opportunity. There were desperate measures, and people in the industry with various knowledge found a way to procure masks.
We procured cheaper masks than we could make ourselves, then impregnated them with silk protein that the president of a textile refining company had been researching, and they sold explosively.
Many media outlets came, and it also helped to compensate for our main business, which was in a very bad state.
As COVID-19 came to an end, we decided to properly establish a brand. Since we had time, everyone brainstormed various ideas.
We discussed "this and that" in the office, gathered various ideas and information. How could we sell it, how could it benefit people? We shaped it while thinking about these things.
That's how we launched the silk product brand, SILLKI.
──The COVID-19 pandemic affected many people's values and choices, didn't it?
Ms. Kawakami:
During COVID-19, didn't everyone think about their health a little?
People who were unhealthy from overworking got a forced break, which improved their health, and they moved to rural areas and so on. Things like that happened, right?
Because of that feeling, the SILLKI brand probably garnered more attention when it started during the pandemic than if it had started before it.
──So, instead of selling fabric, you decided to sell finished products.
Ms. Kawakami:
That's right. After talking with my boss, Mr. Abe, we initially thought about making fabric, but selling fabric was very difficult.
Instead, we thought it would be better to make finished products and deliver them directly to customers. It's more profitable for both sides, and selling fabric actually yields little profit, requiring really mass production to make ends meet.
Given the historical context, we decided to sell products.
#7 Silk, Made More Casual
Washable silk, 200 lives, and looking to the future
──All SILLKI products are washable, which is a unique feature. Silk is said to be non-washable, so how did you achieve washable silk?
Ms. Kawakami:
Actually, if you put in a good deal of effort, anyone can do it, so to speak; silk itself is washable. It's possible if you consider the manufacturing method.
However, I don't think many other places do it. After all, it's an expensive material, so making something out of silk is quite a risk for the manufacturer.
When I was struggling with atopic dermatitis, one idea I had was, "It would be great if there were more casual clothes I could wear."
There are actually such clothes out there, but they're not very mainstream. I thought it would be quite romantic to create something that doesn't really exist.
──Please tell us about the features of your products.
Ms. Kawakami:
All of our products have silk on the inside.
We aim for the silk to fully touch the skin, so customers can experience the comfort of silk in various ways.
For example, this blanket also has silk on the white inner part, and the colored part might be silk cotton.
There are various features, but being lightweight is a major one. You don't get stiff shoulders; even older people say, "Silk is good when you get older," and it's remarkably light.
Since it's lightweight, you can roll it up compactly and take it with you when you travel.
Additionally, the fabric is designed to maximize silk's functionality, releasing heat in hot places and, conversely, providing moisture and warmth in cold places. It's made to make those functionalities come alive.
──I felt that it was a product made by maximizing the power of silk.
Ms. Kawakami:
Also, these ankle warmers are recommended for people who are sensitive to cold.
Women often feel cold, especially their feet. Surprisingly, just warming the ankles makes a big difference.
Women have a uterus, so their internal organs in this area are complex and tend to get cold easily, structurally. That's why these ankle warmers are good for warming the ankles of people who are sensitive to cold. I'm actually wearing them now.
──How many silkworms are used for one product?
Ms. Kawakami:
Let's say our pants weigh 215g, and the silk portion is 40%. That's about 88g. Since one cocoon yields 0.4g of thread, if you divide 88 by 0.4... it's about 200 silkworms. I'd never calculated it before.
I'm conscious of the weight of life. Every time I see the silkworm farming process, I think, "Ah, these silkworms are working so hard to make this into clothes."
That's why we value even the scraps and make things carefully.
Like the blanket that recently won an award at the Dainipponichi. Even waste is a wonderful material, so the underlying philosophy is to create without waste.
──You utilize materials without waste, using them carefully. I sense respect for life.
Ms. Kawakami:
Yes. This is called Kibiso. Kibiso thread is the very first thread spun by silkworms, and it's usually not used, so it's quite rough.
The first fibers spun are collected and made into a single thread.
With the same idea of not wanting to waste the thread that the silkworms painstakingly spun, these threads are collected and upcycled.
So, sometimes the cocoons are still attached. Since it doesn't become a single beautiful silk thread, it could essentially be thrown away, but that would be a waste.
Manufacturers collect these and use machines to turn them into a single thread.
──Please tell us about your future prospects.
Mr. Abe:
Well, we are dyers and weavers, so we have a lot of knowledge about fabrics.
So what we're offering as products now is just a small part. We have endless ideas.
How we shape this. It's both the world of fashion and we also need to create something creative.
For people with sensitive skin, and then, in the future, we want to take this overseas.
How appealing can we make it for international customers? That's probably the ultimate goal.
Ms. Kawakami:
We create with an awareness of the preciousness of life, so we want to use it carefully without waste. And we want more people to know the goodness of silk.
