The same black, but each one develops differently.

 

We made two kinds of black garments.

Both have a black surface.

But the color hidden beneath them is different.

 

One is black over BLEACH INDIGO.

 

The other is black over BLEACH BLACK.

Although they look very similar when new, the more you wear them, the more completely different they become.

 

Good evening. This is cantáte Matsushima.

 

This time, we are discussing the Jacket and Flare Trousers made from wax-finish coated denim.

It looks like leather, but it is not leather.

It is not ordinary denim.

And even by looking at this garment in its new condition, you can only understand half of it.

<cantáte>

" WWⅡ T-Back Jacket - WAXED "

COL : WAXED BLACK , WAXED INDIGO

¥93,500 TAX IN

 

" Denim Flare Trousers - WAXED "

COL : WAXED BLACK , WAXED INDIGO

¥77,000 TAX IN

 

What color should be hidden beneath the black?

The method is rough.

We bleach the denim and layer a black coating over it.

We first destroy the color of the denim we took the trouble to dye, then cover it with black.

It is quite a roundabout process, but this depth cannot be created simply by using black fabric from the start.

 

This time, we made two versions with different bases.

WAXED INDIGO is black over BLEACH INDIGO.

 

WAXED BLACK is black over BLEACH BLACK.

Viewed only from the surface, both are black.

Yet when repeated wear rubs away the coating, the color that appears from beneath is different.

With WAXED INDIGO, blue gradually returns from deep within the black.

With WAXED BLACK, the color emerging from beneath is also black. Rather than undergoing a major color change, it gradually builds through differences in the black’s tone and sheen.

 

One is a black from which the hidden color returns.

The other is a black in which character accumulates within the black.

Even with the same finishing process, the way time appears is completely different.

A coating not applied solely for function.

This coating is water-repellent and wind-resistant.

It is less affected by the weather and does not readily let wind through. This is not a finish applied merely to change the appearance; it serves a proper purpose as clothing.

Still, if we had considered function alone, we could have created a more uniform finish that was less prone to change.

This time, we have not done that.

Bend your arm. Put your hand in your pocket. Sit in a chair. Walk.

Each time, wrinkles and areas of wear are etched into the surface, and the coating gradually changes beginning at the places touched most often.

Rather than preserving its new condition for as long as possible, we chose to let the time spent using it remain properly visible.

Function not merely to prevent wear, but function that includes the way it wears.

I think that is more honest as a garment.

The jacket is where the finishing shows most honestly.

The jacket is the style in which this finishing appears most honestly.

The body has broad surface areas, and the sleeves, elbows, shoulders, and areas around the pockets each move differently. Because there are also many seam lines, neither the way the color remains nor the way it wears away will be uniform.

Deep wrinkles form at the elbows that move frequently, while the denim beneath peeks through at the edges and seams. Conversely, the surface black remains in areas that move less.

With WAXED INDIGO, blue begins to mingle with it.

With WAXED BLACK, variations in tone and a muted sheen emerge within the same black.

It is true that it is most orderly when new.

But with this jacket in particular, it gets even better after it becomes a little disordered.

It was too intense, and my vocabulary fell apart.

 

The trousers distort the finishing process.

Even when made from the same fabric, the trousers undergo a different transformation.

If the jacket presents itself through its surfaces, these trousers reveal themselves through movement.

When walking. When sitting. When crossing your legs.

As wrinkles form at the knees and waist and the hem sways, the way the surface black and the color beneath it appear keeps changing.

The beautiful outline of the flare remains, while only the surface breaks down irregularly.

It is easy to style as black trousers, yet something looks strange up close.

That slight sense of incongruity leaves a lasting impression when worn.

Within this series, this is the style made to offer the greatest enjoyment of change.

 

 

Which black will you choose?

If you want to see a clear transformation, choose WAXED INDIGO.

If you want to enjoy changes in tone and sheen while retaining the impression of black, choose WAXED BLACK.

This is not about which one is superior.

Perhaps you want the blue to return from beneath the black after several years.

Or perhaps you want it to remain black to the very end, with only its character growing deeper.

 

Choose not by its new color, but by the color that will emerge.

 

There are many ways to enjoy denim fading: whiskers, honeycombs, and so on.

 

But clothes do not need to grow so properly behaved.

 

Whether it was a day caught in the rain, a day spent sitting in a chair, or the habit of repeatedly putting your hands in the pockets, I hope it all remains on the surface.

 

Even if they start from the same black, they will not become the same garment.

 

At last, the season when you can wear your new purchases right away has arrived.

 

You can wear it from tomorrow, without leaving it waiting in your closet for a while. I think that alone makes the joy of buying clothes feel entirely different.

 

Watching customers eagerly make their choices and take their purchases home stimulates my own desire to buy. Even though I made them, I find myself wanting them all over again—it's dangerous.

 

Which black will you choose? What will you pair it with, and where will you wear it tomorrow?

 

With that in mind, I hope you will first wear it often.

 

This garment is complete only after some of the black has worn away.

 

cantáte 松島 紳