Fashion meets stationery in our new notebook collection designed with Kentaro Tamai’s fashion label, Aseedonclöud. The limited edition collection will launch in-store and online on Tuesday, 18 October.
Past collaborations with Aseedonclöud saw the label’s remnant fabrics grace our notebook covers. This is the first time both of our collections are released at the same time. The label’s 2022 autumn/winter collection Kiokushi is inspired by stories of writing history, a fitting theme for our latest collaboration.
Explore the stories of the collection and fabric designs.
Kiokushi tells the story of mapmakers who create maps of memories. The story takes us to a world in which nomadic people live a fulfilled existence free from the burdens of material desires. Whenever they wish to recall the memory of a special time or place, they travel to the vault of memories where mementos are stored together with maps showing the time and place they came from. From the maps, the people revisit their memories before continuing on their journey. The mapmaker is the keeper of memories, weaving every recollection from across the land.
Hiraeth map print
The fabric is printed with the map created by the mapmakers of memories. Place names are the names of stars in reference to the constellations used to map their locations. Playful details include inverted names for places pioneered during summer, and the naming of the mapmakers’ favourite places after their own names.
Constellation cloth
The fabric depicts a Gobelins tapestry of the constellations. The mapmakers kept a woven map of memories that could be rolled up and taken with them as they travelled. They would look up at the constellations to ascertain the locations to be mapped, and thus the tapestry is adorned with the animals represented by the stars.
Zephyros stripe
The shirting fabric worn by the main character of the story, Zephyros. It has the soft, worn feel of the shirt owned by Zephyros and features a vibrant striped pattern.
Hiraeth wool chambray
The chambray fabric was inspired by the clothing worn by the mapmakers when travelling on horseback. In Cambrai in northern France where the fabric originated, chambray was considered a luxury textile and worn by priests and those serving the church. The fabric’s iridescent sheen changes appearance depending on the angle of light and exudes an air of elegance.
Kiokushi check cloth
Gun club check is a classic pattern created using more than two colours, originating in the mid-19th century as a uniform for Scottish shooting estates. Tamai naturally thought of the pattern when imagining the mapmakers on horseback.
Hiraeth wool herringbone - Beige
The cover features herringbone fabric by British woollen mill Moon, makers of quality textiles since the 1800s. The fabric is produced in a vertical mill whereby the entire manufacturing process from the raw wool to the dyeing, spinning and finishing takes place on one site. The rich and complex colour palette is testament to Moon’s heritage and exceptional craftsmanship.
Complementary cover designs by Aseedonclöud will also be released alongside the collection.
Bird's nest
Originally created for handkerchiefs, the fabric is adorned with found objects and trinkets collected by a bird to decorate its nest. Among them are items discarded in nature by humans — the print portrays the subjective nature of material value and the relationship between humans and wildlife.
Immunity cloth
The fabric is based on the tale of a ragpicker boy who collects old tools to study them. Mud dyeing is a traditional dyeing technique using only natural resources including tannin-rich plant material, mud and sunlight. Fabric is repeatedly immersed in the plant-based dye before being hand painted with iron-rich mud under the sun. In the slow and laborious process, the fabric is sun dried and rested for about six months. Like denim, the resulting fabric gradually wears and fades from friction, washing and sunlight to develop a unique and personal patina over time.
A5 notebook - Aseedonclöud
Price: ¥3,300-3,960
Launch date: 18 October 2022*
*Pre-orders are available for the following designs, shipping early November:
Constellation cloth
Kiokushi check cloth
Hiraeth wool herringbone - Beige