Lillelund, Lærke (DNK) & Shinada, Ayaki (JPN)
Tissue Boro Dress
HIGHLY COMMENDED
This creative collaboration spans countries and cultures. The repurposing of the tissues used in the indigo dyeing process was a fascinating concept from first-time finalists Lærke Lillelund and Ayaki Shinada.
The Tissue Boro Dress is an inventive fusion of traditional Japanese textile techniques and contemporary sustainability principles, mixing modern and traditional concepts of material value and purpose. Through this synthesis, the dress embodies an evolution where heritage and innovation intertwine.
Crafted from paper tissues used in traditional Japanese indigo baths and inspired by the boro patchwork tradition, this dress repurposes the tissues, recognizing their aesthetic value and reinforcing them as material through intricate layering and stitching. Rooted in the Japanese ethos of "mottainai," which emphasizes the value of not wasting resources, boro textiles have inspired both the idea and development of the dress.
The primary material used in crafting the Tissue Boro Dress is paper tissues collected from the process of checking traditional Japanese indigo baths. The indigo dye is a fully natural and environmentally friendly dyeing process, where indigo leaves through specialised techniques, passed down for hundreds of years, dyes natural fibres blue.
Each tissue bears a unique blue tone and texture resulting from exposure to the indigo dye. The dress pattern is designed and arranged in an organic pattern and stitched together. This organic structure enables the dress to evolve over time and grow, with additional paper tissues added as the indigo dyeing process and production continues, creating tissues in various colours.
With its capacity to evolve and adapt over time, the Tissue Boro Dress urges us to reconsider our relationship with clothing and embrace a more mindful and intentional approach to dressing.
Materials: Paper tissues used in traditional Japanese indigo baths.
Lærke’s website www.laerkelillelund.com
Ayaki Shinada Instagram www.instagram.com/ayakishinada
Norabi Indigo website www.norabi.net
See the Work on Film
Photos Credit: Grant Wells Photo