Nordic Textiles and Their Connection to Japan

What Are Textiles?

You may have heard the word "textile," but many people probably don't know it in detail.

In a broad sense, "textile" refers to "the fabric itself, or its patterns."

The clothes we wear every day are a fine example of a textile item.

And the patterns and motifs often seen around town, like polka dots and checks, also count as textiles.

Woven fabric, made mainly by combining warp and weft threads, may be the easiest example of a textile to picture.

But in fact, textiles include not only weaving but knitting, leather, nonwoven fabric, and materials in general.

Furthermore, woven fabrics and cloth are sometimes called "fabric."

It's hard to draw a strict line between the two, but you can think of fabric as a part of textiles.

Textiles and Art

In recent years, textiles have been attracting attention in the fields of fashion and interior design.

The work of textile designers has come to be featured, and exhibitions are held at museums in many places.

Cloth is indispensable to human civilization, and it has evolved further through techniques such as dyeing and weaving.

Since ancient times, textiles rooted in culture and climate have been created in countries all over the world.

Folk costumes with distinctive colors and patterns are also one form of traditional textile.

On the other hand, textiles seen from the standpoint of fine art developed especially in Europe.

In Spain, Italy, and France, many tapestries were made, with vivid embroidery applied to heavy cloth.

Such tapestries can be regarded as textiles and, at the same time, as works of painting.

Furthermore, in the 19th century, with the Arts and Crafts movement and the vogue for Art Nouveau, textiles came to be embraced in civic culture.

Textiles for use in indoor and outdoor decoration, furniture, and wallpaper were designed and gained great popularity.

In Japan, too, the textile designs of William Morris are widely known as a representative example.

Art and people's daily lives, which at first glance seem incompatible.

Textiles, deeply involved in both clothing and dwelling, might be called a manifestation of art that has blended into everyday habits.

References: テキスタイルって何？ファブリック、マテリアルとの違いも解説 | TECTLI
テキスタイル | 現代美術用語辞典ver.2.0

Nordic Textiles

Textiles born in the Nordic countries — Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, and others — are designed from a perspective close to everyday life.

It's said that social changes after World War II lay behind this.

As each country worked to rebuild its postwar economy, women, too, came to be encouraged to work in order to secure a labor force.

Everyday goods, starting with tableware, came to be designed with ease of use in mind.

At the same time, demand grew not only for functionality that cuts out waste, but also for a design quality that brings color to life.

To answer the flow of this new era, the textile brands still loved today were born.

So-called Nordic textiles are highly popular not only at home but also in Japan.

• Marimekko
• FINLAYSON
• almedahls
• kippis

Every brand's textiles often take as their motif the plants and animals seen in Nordic nature.

Simple icons that capture their characteristics are arranged with plenty of playfulness, becoming eye-catching points.

And finishing them with warm color usage is another element that draws the viewer in.

Nordic textiles, too, may well be enriching people's hearts as an art close to daily life.

References: 温かみのあるデザインに惹かれる。北欧デザインの魅力について知ろう
北欧テキスタイルで、暮らしにぬくもりと使いやすさをプラスしてみませんか | CONORU

The Nordics and Japan, Through Textiles

Today, Nordic textile design is steadily becoming part of life in Japan.

Textile designs drawn on tableware, fabric used for bedding and craft supplies — look around, and before you know it, they're right beside you.

Between the Nordics and Japan, you could say there is an invisible connection through textiles.

For example, Marimekko, known for its "Unikko" design with a poppy-flower motif.

Though it's a brand born in Finland, far from Japan, it has many Japanese designers on its staff.

What's more, Japanese designers such as Katsuji Wakisaka, Masaru Suzuki, and Fujiwo Ishimoto worked at Marimekko and then went on to launch their own brands.

Furthermore, Akira Minagawa fused Nordic and Japanese dyeing-and-weaving culture to create the more approachable textile brand "minä perhonen."

• Katsuji Wakisaka: SOU・SOU
• Masaru Suzuki: OTTAIPNU
• Fujiwo Ishimoto: Mustakivi
• Akira Minagawa: minä perhonen

The colors of flowers and the turning of the seasons that you suddenly notice in daily life. The lives of animals surviving harsh nature.

Textile design reflects into our everyday lives the inspiration received from a casual glance.

It's precisely because there are no borders there that designs continue to be loved, whether Nordic or Japanese.

The appeal of textiles, you might say, lies in how they close the distance to art and expand each person's world.