JunAle - Modern Sashiko Fusion
What do you get when you combine modern materials and traditional sewing techniques? One very appealing answer is presented to you by JunAle.
About the artist
After graduating from Ueda College of Fashion, Sugimae Jun, also known as JunAle, worked as a brand assistant in London, deepening his knowledge of design and the fashion industry.
In 2006 he returned to Japan. While working in sports fashion, he started integrating sashiko into his creative work.
Some of the tools used by JunAle
JunAle uses the Japanese stitching technique to repair or decorate modern functional wear, creating a hybrid design of tradition and trend.
When timeless techniques and new methods harmoniously coexist, they reveal new dimensions of expression.
JunAle
The JunAle Sashiko Studio
JunAle opened up his sashiko studio in Osaka in 2023. Located inside Tsurumi Insatsujo, it is a place where creatives share ideas, get inspired, and learn new things.
The printing of JunAle's business cards
The inside of the studio is filled with JunAle's sashiko material and artworks.
Many of his products have been dyed with indigo, some have been mended so many times they would be categorized as boro. All of them are undeniably works of art, carefully tended to.
JunAle's Sashiko
When I asked JunAle how he applied his sashiko stitches, his answer surprised me. He said that he usually didn't draw any lines but free-hand-stitched his sneakers.
In case you've fallen in love with his work, check out JunAle's homepage and be sure to connect with him on instagram.
JunAle regularly holds workshops if you're interested. Thanks to his time in London, you needn't even speak Japanese.
Even on sneakers with the asanoha pattern, the stitches looked really even to me. Achieving even stitches on flat-lying garments seems doable to me, but on sneakers – that's a whole different business.
Before and after
How to get to JunAle Sashiko Studio:
1-4-18-102, Shigita
Joto-ku, Osaka, Japan — 536-0015
〒536-0015
大阪市城東区新喜多1-4-18-102
A word of caution:
If you blindly copy the location into a map app, you may end up at a high school in a very different part of town.
On the day of the opening ceremony, two very flustered but nice janitors pointed out to me that non-students weren't allowed on the premises I had ventured into. Apparently, some bug in the online map was regularly luring visitors to the schoolyard.
The JunAle Sashiko Studio is inside 鶴身印刷所 Tsurumi Insatsujo near 京橋 Kyōbashi Station. If you copy 鶴身印刷所 into your favorite map app, you should be pointed to the right location.
Additional info:
Right next to JunAle, there is a pan café that sells gluten-free bread and muffins. It's worth dropping by!