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THE STORY 20 SPRING SUMMER

In praise of ambiguity

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When Kurogouchi saw an orange tree covered in a bird net in Odawara, the memory of sleeping in a mosquito net - or kaya suddenly came back to her. In a trip to Arita, Saga, from the previous year, she was offered a chance to sleep in an antique indigo-die mosquito net hanged from the ceiling. The world outside was blurred, seemingly more beautiful and gentler.

These two memories became a piece of knitwear. As if the nets blurs borders between inside and outside, the knitwear, her take on the experience applied to two different knittings in a single garment invites you to see what normally stays invisible inside.

Layering tulle and knit, due to the nature of difference in intensity, requires a meticulous method. With the factories in Nagano and Niigata, Kurogouchi tested applying two different techniques; Inlay and Jacquard which first resulted in many unexpected cut threads and holes. But in order to materialise the feeling of being inside of kaya, helped her distinguish the existence of inside and outside, it would have to be a knitwear delicate as thin as skin.

Eventually, it was the weavers' experiences, knowledge and imagination that made the knit possible, fully materialising Kurogouchi's vision. When worn, the skin you could see through behind the woven net highlights the beauty of the garment as well as herself.