This season, we are exploring the appeal of natural materials even more, selling indigo-dyed T-shirts and gallnut-dyed T-shirts dyed with natural dyes.
We chose "indigo" and "gobaishi" as dyes, which have been popular in Japan for a long time. This time, we will introduce the appeal of "gobaishi dyed T-shirts."
Gallnuts are fruit-like lumps that grow on a plant called alder.
It was also used as a material for blackening teeth during the Heian period, and is one of Japan's oldest dyes.
Rhus alder leaves
Gallnuts can be dyed in a variety of colors by reacting with metals such as iron, aluminum, and copper. Iron produces a deep black-purple color, aluminum produces a slightly grayish yellow, and copper produces a brownish color. The T-shirts in this collection were dyed black-purple by reacting gallnuts with iron.
Natural dyes contain a variety of substances, so the color appears different depending on the reflection of light. When I first saw the dyed T-shirts, I remember being captivated by their "indescribable color," which wasn't flashy but had a subdued presence that caught my eye.
The best part of plant-dyed products is how they change over time. The more you use them, the more the color develops. How about a T-shirt made using this traditional dyeing method, which develops a unique texture over time, like a plant-dyed product?