Asian Craftsmanship: Tradition and Innovation in Fabric, Technique

Brocade is a fabric that weaves together history, beauty, and sophistication. While silk has been its traditional companion, modern brocade garments can now be found in wool, cotton, and synthetic fibers. Whether adorning formal ensembles or casual wear, brocade exudes an unmistakable charm. The roots of brocade trace back to ancient China's Warring States period, around 475–221 BC. Initially exclusive to China, its popularity blossomed in the first few centuries AD, as the silk trade gained momentum.

As brocade's fame spread across Eurasia, rival powers sought to cultivate their own silk industries, leading to the intriguing smuggling of sericulture secrets from China by Byzantine monks in the 6th century AD. The 19th century introduced the Jacquard loom, revolutionizing brocade production. While it made this exquisite fabric more accessible, it also enabled the creation of intricate patterns, preserving brocade's ornamental splendor.

Though brocade remains relatively rare in clothing, it graces modern upholstery and drapes, as well as ceremonial Indian attire and priestly vestments. Brocade's essence lies in its composition of three intertwined yarns: warp, weft, and a supplementary weft that breathes life into its distinct motifs.

Traditional brocade weaving demanded meticulous labor until the advent of the Jacquard loom. Today, computerized Jacquard looms fashion brocade with unparalleled precision, uniting tradition and technology to create a fabric that tells stories through its intricate patterns.

Experience the luxury of hand-woven brocade, a masterpiece of artistry and craftsmanship, available at a price range of $80 to $200 per yard.

Our silk is a testament to the artistry of momme, a weight measurement akin to thread count in cotton. With higher momme counts, our silk exudes elegance and luxury, showcasing a denser weave and thicker individual silk fibers. As a result, our silk radiates opulence and sophistication, making it a coveted choice.

The meticulous process of silk production involves adjusting the silk thread's density and yarn count to control the fabric's weight, or momme. For instance, our 30 momme charmeuse pillowcase boasts silk fibers woven closer together than a 19 momme variant, enhancing its strength and smoothness. This meticulous craftsmanship extends to the use of thicker yarn, resulting in a silk charmeuse that shimmers with a richer luster and unparalleled durability.

In the realm of Western couture, our traditional Qipao and Tang Suit are crafted with 30-40 momme silk charmeuse, a testament to its exceptional quality. Beyond its visual appeal, our silk also regulates body temperature, wicking away moisture for cooling comfort when you sweat and creating a delicate insulating layer for warmth during colder seasons.

Experience the healthful benefits of silk as it's hypoallergenic, gentle on sensitive skin, and naturally resistant to mold, dust, and mites. Embrace the luxury that only silk can offer, a fabric that has captivated for centuries. Resting on our silk is a true indulgence, where higher momme sheets enchant with their richness, luster, and supremely soft touch.

Our commitment to excellence extends to the sourcing of our silk from the cocoons of Bombyx mori silkworms. In a carefully controlled environment, these silkworms spin threads that are finer, smoother, and more consistently colored than any other, elevating our silk to a level of unrivaled refinement.

The yuzen technique, named after the accomplished 17th-century fan painter Miyazaki Yuzen of Kyoto, stands as a testament to his innovation. This technique, born from his genius, revolutionized the world of dyeing. With its inception, production quickened, and novel styles emerged, reshaping the course of fabric artistry. Collaborating with celebrated printers and artists of the era, Miyazaki Yuzen pioneered iconic designs adaptable to various fabrics, marking a pivotal point in history.

In the subsequent chapters of the yuzen narrative, Japanese immigrants journeyed to Hawaii, carrying with them lavish kimonos. The late 1800s witnessed their arrival, coinciding with their employment in sugar cane fields. To accommodate the tropical climate, these immigrants ingeniously repurposed old kimonos, transforming them into shirts. The allure of yuzen shirts resonated deeply with the locals, prompting some Japanese settlers to transition from fieldwork to local shirt production. In this transformational confluence, the vibrant and intricate Hawaiian aloha shirt emerged, bearing the hallmark of bold colors and captivating patterns that define its essence.

The Seed stitch, employed by ancient Egyptians, has endured across diverse embroidery traditions. From a 16th-century sampler to a mid-17th-century depiction of Charles I and Charles II, notable examples held at the Victoria and Albert Museum, and even 18th-century crewel New England bed curtains, the Seeding stitch finds its place.

Moreover, Seeding stitch plays a significant role in various embroidery techniques worldwide. It graces Rabat embroidery, tracing its origins to 17th-century Morocco, and Guimaraes embroidery, a 19th-century practice from northern Portugal. The stitch also adorns Rice embroidery, a whitework tradition cherished in North America and Western Europe.

Goldwork embroidery boasts ancient origins intertwined with the historical silk trade's journey across Asia, notably through Beirut with silk merchants. Its use gained prominence after the birth of Christ, referenced even in the Bible's Book of Exodus, adorning vestments and attire in diverse regions like ancient Egypt, Italy, Babylon, Greece, India, Persia, Japan, and China. Goldwork embodies the opulence and status symbolized by gold throughout history.

An ancient English embroidery technique, goldwork's roots predate the 10th century, although records from earlier times are scarce, with limited pictorial references in the 7th century. Over two millennia ago, it was known in the Middle East, gradually spreading across continents to establish itself firmly in Europe. Traditionally, goldwork adorned ecclesiastical vestments, church trappings, and the regal attire of royal circles and affluent families, signifying wealth and power.

Often executed within churches and by specialized groups, goldwork was revered as a fine art due to its historical significance and intricate craftsmanship. Primarily accessible to the upper classes and wealthy patrons who could afford such artistic embroidery, the threads initially comprised pure gold, wrapped around animal and human hair. However, due to the brittleness of gold, silk, animal gut, paper, or parchment became preferred wrapping materials. Early craftsmanship was entirely manual, resulting in high costs.

A remarkable example of English embroidery is the well-preserved St Cuthbert's Stole and maniple, dating back to around 901 AD. Commissioned by Queen Aelfflaed, it showcases extensive gold laid work and couched thread, now displayed at Durham Cathedral. The era of the 200-year war (1095-1291) brought both riches and loss to goldwork. Initially adorning crusaders and their tents, the prolonged war led to the dismantling of these works of art, cut into pieces to pay off soldiers as wages.

Suzhou embroidery, also known as "Su" embroidery, boasts an extraordinary legacy spanning over 2,000 years, making it one of the oldest embroidery techniques globally. Originating in China, Suzhou embroidery's intricate craftsmanship and vivid imagery have persisted through time. This embroidery style is characterized by its use of vibrant silk threads to create balanced and elegantly depicted pastoral scenes, people, animals, and objects. The skillful execution of Suzhou embroidery is so remarkable that it often transcends utilitarian purposes to be admired as artwork. Some of the earliest surviving pieces date back hundreds of years.

The roots of detailed embroidery in the Suzhou region can be traced back to around 200 BC, with instances of embroidered silk serving as maps in the second and third centuries AD. However, it was during the Song Dynasty (960-1279) that Suzhou embroidery gained prominence. Skilled embroiderers in the Suzhou area used finely spun silk threads to craft images that were considered to rival the beauty of nature itself. Suzhou embroidery quickly became a coveted addition to households during this era, with its popularity spreading to other provinces and influencing embroidery across China. Amid the evolution of various Chinese embroidery techniques, it's the Suzhou style that has set the benchmark for excellence.