Meet Japanese Companies with Quality
Raw+: Leather and grace RAWTUS INTERNATIONAL Co.,LTD.
Website: RAWTUS INTERNATIONAL Co.,LTD.
Category: Japanese Apparel & Textiles
Raw ideas
Formed in 2008 by two designers from Muji who valued simplicity, Tokyo-based ladies' fashion brand Raw+ is taking conventional leather style in new directions. Their traditional-with-a-twist designs-or "raw plus"-feature both masculine and feminine elements. Relying on their own ingenuity, they have created new ways of using leather in their high-end women's clothing line.
Raw+ is renowned for their new goat leather, a hide so light that it doesn't require a lining. When the brand first started, leather was only used seasonally and made up only a fraction of their collection. A question in 2010 changed everything. "Is it possible to create a new type of leather that is thin, light and elegant?" The answer to that question is the basis of their brand's success today.
A thin skin
Previously, the common understanding with leather was that it's thick, heavy and one-sided-meaning only the surface is smooth. The suede on the inside has a rough texture, creating friction, and is also prone to color transferring to the inner wear, making inner linings a necessity. However, the inner linings would create restrictions in tailoring and limit the extent of designs.
Therefore, Raw+ questioned if they could tailor the leather to be solely one layer. They were able to develop a new goat leather that's innovative and light, and capable of being tailored as one sheet. They applied a process in which both sides of the leather are made uncommonly soft and smooth; the single layer is as thin as 0.4 millimeters. In addition, it's antifouling and water resistant, protecting itself from soil and rain-breakthrough ideas they've patented.
Armed with these fresh possibilities, they created a complete collection using only their new material. For the winter, Raw+ paired the exquisite Japanese technique of "double side fur-finished cashmere" with their leather. For the summer, they innovatively combined jersey material with their slim and soft skins. They now create a new 40-50-piece collection each season, something unheard of with leather fashion houses before.
The future of innovational Japanese fashion
Their slim, textured creations, born of a sensitivity and delicateness familiar to Japan, were highly acclaimed at their first global appearance in Paris in 2010 and attracted clients from all over the world. Now seen as a contemporary international brand, the Raw+ collections appear alongside imported designer brands at select shops and department stores throughout Japan. As they expand internationally, their continuous innovation never ceases. A line of accessories suitable to their designs is next on their list of challenges, and their newest couture collection is currently in the works.
Website: RAWTUS INTERNATIONAL Co.,LTD.