Pheeta debuted in spring/summer 2019 and is now in its sixth year. All collections so far have been produced in India, using traditional clothing techniques that take a lot of time and effort to create handmade clothes. This time, we're focusing on the Francis series, which features the especially rare block print method using hand-carved designs and woodblocks. We spoke with director Naoko Koude about the appeal and background of the collection.
Photographer: Hiroshi Nakamura
Interviewer: Mayu Sakazaki
Connecting Clothes, Connecting Skills
To start, could you tell us again about how you make clothes at Pheeta?
Our goal at Pheeta is to create one special piece that will be loved for a long time, something that can be passed down from a parent to a child, like a special family treasure.
This idea was inspired by traditional Japanese clothing, like kimonos, which families used to carefully pass down through generations. To make this possible, we use skills that we hope will be passed on, too. Every collection so far has been made in India, where there is a deep culture of handwork. We spend a long time creating samples there and slowly add new series to our collection.
Among all the places with special handwork, why were you so interested in India?
In my previous job, I visited workshops in many different countries, but India was the place where I felt the strongest sense of personality. You could see it in the final clothes and also in the skilled handwork like embroidery, which was so different from place to place. It felt like these skills were a deep part of the culture.
But I also saw that much of the country's clothing production was focused on making large quantities of low-cost items. I felt their amazing skills were not being fully used. I thought that if we could work together on everything, including the sewing and the patterns, we could create something truly wonderful. That was a big reason why I chose India.
It’s been about three years since you started in 2019. What have you learned?
I've learned that there are so many people in India who love making things. They have a strong sense of pride in their work, a feeling of, Look at this wonderful thing I'm making.
Because it is all done by hand, each piece is a little bit different. We believe this is not a mistake. It is part of the beauty and shows that a person, not a machine, made it. Things made by people have the power to move our hearts. I feel that India has a culture that truly understands this value, and that’s what makes it so special.
So that spirit also influences your designs and collection themes?
Yes, it does. At Pheeta, we only make clothes using artisanal skills, so we always start by finding a technique we want to use or a craft we want to express. We visit factories, talk with the artisans, and try making things together. This process becomes the foundation of our work. I believe the talented artisans also feel very strongly that we are all creating something together. The Beauty of Block Printing with Hand-Carved Wood.
This is your sixth collection. Is there an overall theme?
This collection's theme is nenkō. This is the Japanese word for the layers of soil that build up at the bottom of a lake over many years. A dark layer forms in the spring and summer, and a light layer in the fall and winter. Together, they mark one year. Over decades, these layers create a beautiful pattern.
We thought this was a beautiful idea for our lives, too—that even after a hard year, we can always move forward and create something beautiful. Due to the pandemic, we were unable to travel to India in 2021, and production was unstable. So, for the 2021 collection, we took the handwork skills we had built over the previous three years and used them with new materials and designs.
Did the pandemic affect factory operations in India?
The Indian government's rules were very strict due to the coronavirus, but by mid-2021, about half of the artisans had returned to the factories. The peak was around April and May 2020, when everything was completely locked down for about two months. The situation was difficult again in 2021, but things started to calm down since August, and the rules became a little looser.
The block printing in your Francis series has appeared in past collections, so it's a signature for Pheeta. Can you explain what kind of technique it is?
Block printing started in Jaipur, the largest city of the northwestern Indian state of Rajasthan. Many artisans used to do this, but now, due to digital printing, this skill is becoming increasingly rare.
To make it, we start with a design that I draw. An artist then carves that design into a wooden block, which can take about two weeks to finish just one block. We make many of these blocks. Then, like a stamp, they press the block onto the fabric with ink, one color at a time. It takes a very long time and incredible care to create the full pattern (laughs).
Each block is made by hand. It takes a lot of time and care to create the final pattern, from the first drawing to the carving and the final printing.
Working with a technique like that must be difficult to manage.
It is. Since the colors are pressed on one by one, the weather has a big impact. During the rainy season, the ink can bleed, so we have to stop working. It also takes a lot of time and money, so it became less common in India and, of course, in Japan. But recently, people have started wanting to use high-quality things for a long time, and because of this, the value of this special skill is finally being appreciated again.
Once the blocks are finished, they are pressed onto the cloth.
What do you find so beautiful about block printing?
For me, it’s the special feeling that can only come from many hands working together. My original drawing doesn't just appear on the fabric. It is first traced onto wood, then carved, and then a heavy wooden block is pressed onto the cloth again and again. During this process, sometimes the ink smudges a little, or the patterns don't line up perfectly. I believe this is part of the beauty of handwork.
We also don't just use the wooden blocks once. We might use them in a new way for another collection, or to make small gifts like handkerchiefs. We chose block printing with the idea of continuing to use things, not throwing them away.
Leftover fabric from past collections is given new life as gift handkerchiefs using block printing.
A Clear Message from a Handmade Brand
Keeping traditional handwork skills alive is easy to say, but I imagine it’s very difficult to do. What are some of the challenges you face?
It takes a very long time to make just one sample. Besides block printing, we use other skilled techniques, like tucks that can only be woven by hand, lace made on 100-year-old looms, and embroidery that is drawn with a sewing machine or sewn with just a needle and thread. These are all very challenging for the artisans and for us as designers (laughs). We also have to provide all the instructions for patterns and designs in English, so we have to plan everything much further ahead than you might think.
That sounds like an incredible amount of work.
That's exactly why at Pheeta, we don't just use a technique or a series once and then stop. Instead, we carry them into the next season or make them a signature part of our brand. We don't create everything from scratch each time; it feels more like we are building on what we've done before and updating it. We especially created our sixth collection with this idea of connecting in mind.
What is the reaction from the artisans you work with?
We usually start by asking for a small fabric sample, not a whole piece of clothing. When we ask for very detailed sewing or embroidery on that small piece, there are times when they seem to be wondering, What kind of clothing will this become? But when we take the finished fabric back and give them the full patterns and instructions, and they see the final piece of clothing, they understand. They say, Oh, so this is how it turns out! We have a lot of meetings to explain our ideas, but it's a joyful feeling when we gradually come to understand each other.
Separate prints come together to form a single pattern.
The hand-printed books from Tara Books, a publisher in Chennai, a major city in eastern India, are also very well known. Do you feel a connection to that wider spirit of handwork in the country?
Yes, paper in India holds a special power, and the printing methods used by Tara Books have a lot in common with Pheeta’s idea of skilled handwork. The people in India don't see these things as amazing or special; it’s just a normal part of their daily life. When I see the things they make, I find them so charming. They feel very human.
The texture and beauty you can feel with your hands hold the message we want to share. At Pheeta, we also want to be thoughtful in everything we do. For example, our product tags are made in India from recycled paper that comes from the leftover edges of cotton fabric. We print them using an old-style printing method that presses the letters into the paper.
What Pheeta Wants to Do Next
As you continue to create more collections, what has become most important to you as a brand?
The idea of connecting things. That hasn't changed from our very first concept. For our clothes to still be wonderful in 10 or 20 years, we know the brand must evolve while also keeping these skills alive. It’s important for us to keep improving the small details you might not see, like reviewing the density of the fabric each season or changing the thread to organic cotton. We want to make things in a way that brings joy even during the creation process, so that you will wear our clothes with love.
Your re-dyeing aftercare service is also a wonderful idea.
Thank you. Re-dyeing was a common practice in the culture of traditional Japanese clothing. We started a program where, if a light-colored Pheeta item gets a stain you can't remove, you can have it dyed black to turn it into a new piece of clothing. We hope that even if you've worn something for years and it has yellowed, or if you wear it less as you get older, you can enjoy it again in a completely new way.
What's next for you?
I hope to work with the handicraft cultures of other countries and regions, not just India. I have already started visiting some places, but like before, it will likely take a long time to make it happen (laughs).
Other than that, I want to keep growing the world of Pheeta. We will move forward by carefully considering every detail of our brand, not just the products themselves.
Profile
Naoko Koude
After working in planning and design for other clothing companies, Naoko joined Another Edition as a designer in 2008. She became the creative director of that brand in 2015. She then launched Pheeta in the spring and summer of 2019.
