In the previous article, " A Talk with a Fashion Designer about Clothing Remakes and Upcycling ," we shared some memories related to clothing remakes, and then introduced a project called "[Limited to one person] Designer Kubo will remake an existing Yoshiokubo garment." Applications are being accepted until 11:59 PM on Friday, September 1, 2023, and the application form is also located below this article. Please be sure to check it out.

Well, today I'd like to share some more of my memories of remaking and upcycling.

●The story of how I realized the possibility of a "remake"

When I was training in NYC, I'm not exaggerating when I say that I really spent my days visiting fabric stores all over NYC, touching all the fabrics there, and purchasing the fabrics that my boss wanted. I believe that this experience helped me expand my "drawer" when it comes to fabrics, and at the time I was determined to do so.

It was during this time that I came across a 100% cotton camouflage fabric.

Thick, sturdy camouflage fabric with a "this is military" feel wasn't something they were looking to purchase, but I thought, "Maybe I should try making some pants for myself with this," so I decided to buy it with my own money. Even back then, I was making my own clothes.

I could have just made clothes out of that fabric, but I thought it would be a bit boring, so I decided to overdye it. Overdyeing is a process in which previously dyed fabric is dyed over with more color without bleaching it, and it creates a unique look that is different from re-dyeing. In this case, I wanted the finished product to look like a solid color from a distance, but with a closer look you could vaguely make out a camouflage pattern.

By the way, the idea behind "yoshiokubo's 2024 Spring/Summer" was to create clothes that would provoke the feeling of, "I don't know what it is, so I want to squint and get a clear view," and it could be said that a glimpse of that idea was already there at this time.

Anyway, I had planned to layer dye the camouflage fabric in black to create a nice finish, but at the time I had no knowledge of dyeing and dyed it in a pot in the kitchen of my apartment, so it ended up being a deep dark brown color. Although it was a little different from what I was aiming for, the dark overdye, similar to the camouflage, made the camouflage pattern really come alive and make it easy to wear every day! When I walked around town wearing the finished pants, many people would come up to me and say, "Those pants are great! What brand are they?"

This experience was a great discovery for me, it changed my image of remakes and made me realize the potential of creativity.