A&S 2026SS – OHMEZOME

‘Ohmezome’ is a term independently coined by A&S to describe an existing locally-rooted botanical dyeing practice carried out at a dye workshop in Ōme City, Tokyo, where pruned plum branches gathered from trees growing wild within the city are simmered to produce an extract used for dyeing.
The plum branches used as raw material vary greatly in character depending on the timing of pruning and storage conditions, and are also difficult to preserve over long periods. For this reason, securing a stable supply of dye material has long been a challenge, and although the practice is said to date back to the Edo period, it never became widely established.

In Ōme City, plum trees are pruned each year from November through December. Using branches produced through this seasonal pruning as the raw material, the dye was applied to A&S’s signature spring/summer materials—Super fine linen gauze and Super fine linen—using three types of mordants: aluminium, copper, and iron.

Ohmezome begins by pre-treating the fabric with infused proteins and added ions, preparing the textile so that the dye more readily fixes to the fibers. The pruned branches are then chipped and placed into nets in varying sizes before being simmered in a large vat filled with water to extract the dye solution. The mixture is continuously stirred and maintained at approximately 90°C, allowing the dye extract to develop over the course of about one hour.

During the dyeing process, the fabric is immersed in the dye solution. Even within a single piece of fabric, slight differences in immersion timing can easily result in uneven color, so the fabric is quickly and carefully spread out as it is submerged. While in the dye solution, wrinkles are continuously smoothed out for several minutes to ensure the color is absorbed evenly.

The process then moves on to mordanting. Here as well, the fabric is carefully treated by hand while smoothing out wrinkles during the mordanting process. After the remaining mordant is washed away, excess water is removed. By repeating these steps multiple times and gradually layering light applications of dye, a uniform, even finish is achieved. Compared to conventional botanical dyeing, this method is extremely labor-intensive and time-consuming.

Furthermore, because there is a limit to the length of fabric that can be dyed evenly at one time, multiple sections divided every few meters are carefully adjusted to achieve a consistent tone. These adjustments also vary depending on the type of mordant used, and the final judgment of color is entrusted to the artisan’s trained eye and sensibility. Once color matching is complete, the fabric is dried in the shade and color-fixed to complete the process.

Aluminum mordant produces a pale pink beige, copper mordant yields subdued beige to brown tones with a slight yellow cast, and iron mordant creates shades ranging from gray beige to deep, rich brown.

Super fine linen gauze is a fabric woven in a softly open density using only extremely fine, tightly twisted linen yarns. Exceptionally soft, it highlights the delicate natural texture of linen itself.
Super fine linen is a fabric densely woven from ultra-fine linen yarns. Because the yarns are extremely fine and prone to breakage, the weaving process is highly demanding, and only a limited number of skilled artisans are able to produce this material.

Lightweight fabrics woven from fine linen yarns, together with items that capture the expression of each fleeting moment as created by natural dyes, will begin arriving in stores. We invite you to experience them firsthand.

Acknowledgment: Kosoen