Asamery will celebrate its 70th anniversary in 2023. It has been loved by many people throughout the ages. This time, let's focus on the birth of Asamery.
The product concept of Asamery is "linen processed knitted fabric," which is also the origin of the name. Tracing back the history of Angle products, the term first appeared in 1917. It was the internal name given to a prototype of men's cotton knitted underwear with a crisp, linen-like feel.
In the summer, crepe underwear, a woven undergarment made from linen and with an open front, was the standard. Linen is breathable and very cool, but because it is a fabric made by tightly interwoven warp and weft threads, it lacks elasticity. It also has many drawbacks for being used as an undergarment, such as being itchy when in direct contact with the skin, unevenness on the surface of the fabric, and difficulty in washing.
"I want to create underwear that is easier to put on and take off and fits better."
They changed the material from hemp to cotton, and made underwear out of stockinette rather than woven fabric... This was the beginning of Asamery's journey towards creating the ideal underwear, and it continues to this day.
"It feels similar to linen, but better than linen."
The goal was to create a cool, linen-like texture using cotton. At a time when it was common practice to use loosely twisted yarn for knit fabrics, Angle's developers at the time came up with the idea of using tightly twisted yarn. The more twisted the yarn, the thinner it becomes, giving it a crisp feel. It took a lot of trial and error to determine which type of yarn, what thickness, and how many times to twist it to create the ideal texture.
Have you ever heard the term "untwisted yarn" when it comes to towels, for example? It is characterized by its softness, but that is because the yarn is not twisted. Asamery's yarn, on the other hand, is tightly twisted, which inevitably makes it stiff. Normally, this would make it feel rough against the skin, but because we use long, supple fibers and add a process to gas-burn the twisted yarn and remove the fuzz, it remains comfortable even when twisted tightly. This balance is the essence of Asamery.
Furthermore, highly twisted yarn is difficult to handle, and requires skill to knit it without damaging it. In developing Asamerie, we also focused on devising a knitting machine that would be able to knit this original yarn. As a result of many years of research and the efforts of our craftsmen, Asamerie was born, an undergarment perfect for Japan's hot and humid summers.
We've already mentioned that the tightly twisted yarn gives it a refreshing, crisp feel like linen, but the strong twist also creates an additional feature. The twisted yarn creates capillary action, absorbing sweat and dissipating it into the air. Asameri's refreshing feel and sweat-wicking functionality make it the perfect underwear for summer.
Once you try it, you won't want to let go of the comfortable feel and unique texture. This is the reason why Asamery has been loved by so many people for so many years. That's why, even now, 70 years after its release, we place the utmost importance on preserving Asamery's texture and comfort. Even though raw material prices have risen over time and it has become difficult to offer Asamery at the same price as before, we cannot lower the quality of the raw materials just to keep the price the same.
70 years have passed since its launch. Asamery has a history of providing comfortable clothing to customers, and we will continue to maintain that high quality.