Japanese Boro

In a world oversaturated with fast fashion and all things disposable, people naturally turn back to items with more personal value, the made to measure, the family heirloom, the one of a kind. Boro: a technique used by Japanese farmers to repair tattered clothing and textiles by hand with indigo dyed cotton fabric and passed down from generation to generation. Once viewed as a sign of poverty, this intricate patchwork is now seen as rich tradition full of history. Boro rides the line between textile and folk art, genuine pieces of 19th and early 20th century Japanese boro can fetch prices into the thousands. Take a gander at some of these anti-minimalistic beauties you can pass down yourself.

Wear it. Wear it out. Wear holes in it. Patch it up again.