#7 Tailoring
Unused
Tokyo, Japan
What began in school out of pure avarice quickly grew into their profession, their passion and their destiny. By 2002, they had already founded their own label - UNUSED. By then tailoring had already become a huge part of their lives but the process of turning this handcraft into something that allowed them to express their creativity and inspire others was actually very natural. Always inspired by everyday life, UNUSED design and produce their collections as a team. This in itself is a very important part of their creative process.
When a digital photo suddenly becomes something that can dress you, warm you or make you feel beautiful, a whole new world of perception is opened up. These days we are living in a convenient world where it has become so easy to copy things that came before. An entire industry has even been created that exists solely to copy products that somebody else once created.
Once one keeps this in mind people begin to understand just how important handcrafts are. A crafter will never produce something that’s identical to something he has created before – every single piece is completely unique. Crafters have the power to make this world a more diverse place if only they hold onto their dreams.
INTERVIEW
When and where were you born?
JAPAN
Where is your life centered at the moment?
TOKYO
Where is your work centered at the moment?
It is a time I spend with my team.
How old is your handcraft?
20 years.
How, when and where did your handcraft find you first? Is it Love? Profession? Faith? Determination? Curse?
It started when I was a kid in school just to satisfy my avarice.
Please tell us more about the history / origin of your handcraft.
I would like to leave this a secret.
Do you control or change your handcraft or does your handcraft control or change you?
I think it is important to control yourself when you do handcrafts but there always should be control while you are at the progress of making something.
How did your craft develop in the course of the past decades or centuries?
My creation is a pile of all the failures I made.
How will your craft and you evolve together in the future?
I can never know…. but we always improve ourselves only from mistakes.
Which part of the production process do you like best and why?
I love to re-do things from the mistakes.
Which part of the production process is the most tricky one?
We do things we have been doing… there is nothing difficult actually. The most difficult part is the difference between the difference between reality and hope.
What is the biggest challenge?
It is always a distance between real life and my imagination.
How does it feel to transform digital pixels into real, tangible originals?
It is amazing when the digital pixels become a real thing in the world that brings many different thoughts from the audience that touch and feel it.
Please define „crazy“
I can say it is an opposite to normal. In a sense of inspiration.
Ar you left or right handed?
right handed.
What is the most important tool for your work, other than your hands?
It is interesting, but it is a pencil when we draw things that we hope to produce.
How do people react on your handcrafted products?
I think it should always be positive and negative. Nobody can create things that really hit the heart of the people in the world evenly.
What is the importance of handcrafts in current times? We live in a convenient world where people can easily copy things. Hand craft artists never create things that are the same even if he/she create the same things. hHand craft artists can make things differently when they don’t forget about their dreams.
Do you consider yourself an artist or a craftsman?
I never thought that I am an artist nor craftsman. I just have been doing things that I can do.
What is your favorite smell? Your favorite touch? Your favorite taste ? Your favorite sound? Your favorite dream?
I like smells that bring my memories back. I like to taste things that I never have before. I also like sound that i don’t hear in my daily life.
What inspires you most? My inspiration comes from my daily life.
Who is your personal „handcraft jesus“ of all times?
I would like to leave this a no comment.
What would you recommend to somebody who wants to start learning your handcraft? How should he/she start?
It is always about pursuing your ideal. And to dive into it by yourself.
History
TAILORING
To describe it in the most simple terms, tailoring is the art of cutting and sewing to create clothing. In Europe, it has its roots somewhere between the 1100s and the 1300s. We can find the earliest ever mention of the word ‘tailor’ as far back as the 1290s, when it appeared in the Oxford English Dictionary, but we can be fairly sure that the art of tailoring was already establishing itself firmly in Europe.
Back in those early days, tailors would design clothes for largely practical reasons; to keep us warm and conceal the body. By the Renaissance however the art of tailoring was already beginning to move towards something else – a form of creative, self-expression.
Through the years, the art of tailoring has kept many characteristics, though some things have changed. In the early years, tailoring was done entirely by hand, but over the years, new innovations have slowly changed the way clothes are made. Sewing machines, for example, can give tailors a level of control and accuracy that they would never have been able to achieve using their hands alone.
The styles and types of clothes tailors have made have also changed dramatically though the years. But even though there have been changes in fashion, in style, and the way tailors go about their craft – it’s still ultimately an art in which tailors make personalized statements of fashion for others. Even in this modern age, there are skilled tailors all across the world and with their craft they represent a great heritage.