Signature of Tane

At the heart of our collections are traditional Japanese fabrics. We use Bingo-Fushiori, a textile with a modern style and utility that is based on Kasuri, a cotton fabric of 38cm width used in the past to make kimonos and workwear. From colour dyeing to weaving, both fabrics are carefully handcrafted by artisans.

Tane’s signature colour is indigo blue. Indigo has been a familiar colour to the Japanese since ancient times and there are 48 different types, ranging from pale tones to almost black. Of these, we believe that the deep indigo blue embodies our brand's attitude, the strength of confidence. Other colours are also dyed with natural materials such as persimmon tannin and charcoal.

Bingo-Fushiori is characterised by its nep, which gives the fabric a hand-woven look and feel, even though it is woven by machine. This peculiar texture is due to the wooden shuttle looms made in the 1950s by Toyota, long before they made cars. The shuttle loom weaves slowly by moving the shuttle, which contains the weft yarn, from side to side between the warp yarns open at the top and bottom. Because there is less tension on the weft yarns, they have a softer, slightly airy feel.

Production begins with the dyeing of the yarn. Dyed by hand they are wrung out and then dried in the sun. The darker the colour the more dyeing is required, and the process of dyeing and wringing out is repeated about six times. Drying in the sun also requires great care, as the result depends on the weather. Even in the weaving process, the old shuttle looms require constant adjustment of the yarn and checking of the weave, so the weavers are never far from the loom. In this way, they can weave only 30 metres a day.

“It's the height of inefficiency,” jokes Kojiro Kobayashi, project manager at Bansho, our fabric supplier, but for them it's not about efficiency. Because they know the value of a product that has been carefully made by hand.

Tane's aim is to pass on the care and passion of the maker of this rare fabric, to those who choose to wear our collection.