KOWA exhibited at Première Vision Paris 2025S/S, held in February 2024.

The three standard KOWA materials used in the exhibited products have been given secondary processing to create a fabric that can be described as "breaking new ground in cotton" through new ideas.

This involves collaboration across departments within KOWA, as well as teaming up with a dyeing factory in Ishikawa Prefecture that specializes in special processing.

It was created through further teamwork, with each of these three parties demonstrating their respective strengths.

KOWA exhibiting at the 2025 S/S Premiere Vision Paris held in February 2024.

From the three standard KOWA materials used in the exhibiting products, a fabric was born that could be described as a "new frontier of cotton", expressed through a new idea by applying a secondary processing.

The collaboration across divisions within KOWA, and the teamwork with a dyeing factory in Ishikawa Prefecture, which is in special processing.

The fabric was created through the combined strengths of these three companies and further teamwork.

The KOWA sales department, which was involved in this exhibition, has three teams with different roles: "Section 1," which specializes in exporting fabrics; "Section 2," which handles materials such as yarn and textile sales; and "Section 3," which handles OEM apparel products.

This time we will be focusing on ATELIER.K, a product development team derived from Section 3. They specialize in down manufacturing and secondary processing.

To develop products to exhibit at Première Vision Paris in February 2024, ATELIER.K chose a dyeing factory based in Ishikawa Prefecture, which specializes in special processing, as its tag partner.

ATELIER.K's manufacturing is born from the collaboration of these three parties.

First, Section 2 procures the fabric that forms the basis of the product.

The third section then assembles the product, and finally passes it on to the dyeing factory mentioned above, where special processing and piece dyeing are carried out.

The three teams each achieved their pride and went through the process of moving on to the next step...

Thus, a new fabric was born that expresses a unique texture that cannot be obtained through ordinary fabric dyeing and can be called a "new frontier for cotton."

Strengths of ATELIER.K Products born from team collaboration

KOWA's sales department, which was involved in this exhibition, has teams with different roles: 'Section 1' specializes in exporting fabrics, 'Section 2' deals with materials such as yarn and textile sales, and 'Section 3' handles apparel products.

ATELIER.K, which we focus on this time, is a product development team derived from these Section 3. It specializes in manufacturing products with down production and special secondary processing.

In developing products to be exhibiting at Première Vision Paris in February 2024, ATELIER.K chose a dyeing factory based in Ishikawa Prefecture that specializes in special processing as a tag-team partner.

ATELIER K's craftsmanship is the result of the collaboration of these three partners.

First, Section 2 procures the fabrics that form the basis of the products.

Section 3 receives the baton and assembles the product. Finally, the baton is passed to the dyeing factory, where special processing and post-dyeing takes place.

The three teams fulfil their respective pride of place and go through a process that leads them to the next stage...

The result is a new fabric that expresses a unique texture that cannot be obtained by ordinary fabric dyeing, and which can be described as a "new frontier for cotton".

For this featured product, Section 2, which handles materials such as yarn and textile sales, used their extensive experience to procure three different fabric items.

Let's take a closer look at the characteristics and benefits of these three fabrics and what makes them so appealing.

Three foundational materials.

For this topic product, the fabrics procured by the "2 Section", which handles materials such as yarns and textile sales, are three in total.

What features and advantages do these three fabrics have? Let's take a closer look at what kind of appeal they have.

File, No. <KW1001>

The first material used in this product is item number ＜KW1001＞. It is a 100% cotton chino item, and its main feature is the use of thread.

The yarn used is made using a special method in which 30-count (※) compact yarn is doubled and then tightly twisted.

Simply put, compact yarn is yarn with reduced fuzz on the surface. During the spinning process, a special machine is used to incorporate the fuzz on the surface of the yarn into the yarn, resulting in yarn with less fuzz. Compared to regular threads, it has significantly less fuzz and has a silk-like luster and smoothness.

Furthermore, by bundling two of these threads together to make a double thread and adding a strong twist, it is possible to create a unique firmness, toughness, and crispness.

The first material used for this product is part number <KW1001>. This chino item is made of 100% cotton and is characterized by its use of yarn.

The yarn is made using a special manufacturing process that uses compact yarn of 30 count (*) twinning and further high-twisting.

Compact yarn is, simply put, a yarn with reduced fluff on the yarn surface. When a special machine is used during the spinning process, which inserts the fluff on the surface of the yarn into the yarn, a yarn with less fluff is produced. Compared to normal yarns, this yarn has considerably less fluff and has a silky sheen and smoothness.

Furthermore, when two of these yarns are bundled together to form twin yarns and then high-twisted, a unique bounciness, firmness and crispness can be expressed.

*The "~ count" is a number that indicates the thickness of the thread; the thicker the thread, the smaller the number, and the thinner the thread, the larger the number. 840 yards of thread per pound is count 1, 1680 yards of thread per pound is count 2, and 2520 yards of thread per pound is count 3.

The "˜number' is a number indicating the thickness of the yarn; the thicker the yarn, the smaller the number, and the finer the yarn, the larger the number. 840 yards of yarn at 1 lb is considered to be number 1, 1680 yards at 1 lb is number 2, and 2520 yards at 1 lb is number 3.

File No., <KN80145>

The second material is item number ＜KN80145＞. It is a 100% cotton plain weave fabric, but the main feature of this item is the number of threads. Nearly 300 ultra-fine threads made of compact yarn are woven into the warp and weft.

The thread count indicates the number of threads per inch (2.54 cm), so if you imagine 300 threads per inch (2.54 cm), you can imagine that it is a fairly high-density fabric.

A material with a flat weave that has a high density of embossing is called typewriter. The name comes from the typewriter, a machine that was widely used until around the 20th century to type letters.

The fabric is strong enough to type on, and the dense weave gives it a crisper texture than other fabrics.

The second material is part number <KN80145>. This item is a plain fabric made of 100% cotton, but the number of stitches is a major feature of this item. The warp and weft yarns are made of ultra-fine yarns using compact yarn, with nearly 300 strokes per inch (2.54 cm).

The number of stitches means the number of threads per inch (2.54 cm), so if you imagine that 300 threads are stitched into 2.54 cm, you can imagine that this is a very dense fabric.

A plain weave material with a high density of battens is called typewriter. The name comes from the typewriter, a machine for typing letters that was widely used until around the 20th century.

The weave is strong and dense enough to allow typing on the fabric, and has a crisp texture compared to other fabrics.

File No., <KW7004>

The third material is item number ＜KW7004＞. It is a gabardine material made from a cotton-nylon blend, but its main feature is that it uses a nylon called Cordura.

Cordura is a highly durable material that is seven times stronger than nylon and is a registered trademark of the American company Invista. It is also highly water-repellent, so it is often used in camping equipment, fishing equipment, mountain climbing equipment, and workwear.

＜KW7004＞ is a fabric made from a yarn blend of 30% Cordura and 70% cotton, making it a material that achieves high durability and water repellency while retaining the soft texture and warmth unique to cotton.

The third material is part number <KW7004>. This gabardine material is made from cotton-nylon blended yarn, but its main feature is the use of a nylon called Cordura.

Cordura is a highly durable material that is seven times stronger than nylon and is a registered trademark product of the American company INVISTA. It is also highly water-repellent and is therefore widely used in camping equipment, fishing equipment, mountaineering equipment and workwear.

<KW7004> is a fabric made from a yarn blend of 30% Cordura and 70% cotton, which retains the soft texture and warmth characteristic of cotton while also achieving high durability and water repellency.

Next time, let's talk about how to make use of this material.

In the next issue, we will cover stories that make the most of the material.