Japanese Water-Well Concept inspired towel brand's booth design at 100% Design show

Lucia Carpio, Content Editor of My Fashion Connect, trying out the traditional custom of washing hands
at an ancient shrine in Kyoto, Japan.

When visiting and worshiping at a shrine in Japan, it is traditional to wash one’s hands and mouth with water from a well on the premise to purify oneself.  I had this experience on a recent trip to Kyoto, the ancient capital of feudal Japan.

And it was at the 100% Design show at London's Earl's Court held a couple of days ago that I got to experience this traditional custom again.

Japanese towel company Imabari had created a serene exhibition space that engaged visitors in the unique hand-washing tradition.

The main concept of the booth was based on a “pile” of stacking wood frames that one often finds in a traditional Japanese building.  The wood frames in the Imabari's booth were stacked in such a way that the structure resembled the Japanese written character for a water-well.  

And built into these wood frames were unique watering “basins” for visitors to experience the Japanese traditional custom of washing hands.  Visitors then had the opportunity to dry out their hands using Imabari’s cotton towels, and experience first hand the towel’s water-absorbing quality and lush cotton texture.

The booth concept was created by the branding project's creative director Kashiwa Sato (responsible for the international branding of such names as Honda, Uniqlo and Seven Eleven Japan) in collaboration with architect Shigeru Kubota who designed the Imabari Towel shop in Tokyo, utilising Japanese architectural aesthetics.

On exhibit at the booth in 100% Design were different ranges of white towels woven in subtle designs.  According to a spokesman, Imabari’s minimalistic approach to producing these towels were based on the three elements of texture, materials and weaving.

Imabari Towels are often in white and never in strong colours and patterns so as not to distract the user from their high quality.  The Imabari towels have been produced since 1894 and is today run by the Shikoku Towel Industrial Association.  The region where the towels are produced situated in the Ehime prefecture on the island of Shikoku, is served by the subsoil water of Soja River which runs from the Takanawa Mountain Range with underground water coming from the sacred Mount Ishizuchi.  By using water of such fine quality, the fabrics produced are both delicate and soft to touch.  

This is the Imabari logo at left and the choice of colours have been chosen to represent Japanese aesthetics.   Red is associated with energy, passion, advancement, power, motion, impact and Japan.  Blue is the colour of safety, ease, trust, history, tradition, freshness and tranquility,  while White is the colour for pureness, cleanliness, innocence, healing, sincerity, softness, and affection.

No doubt  we would be seeing this logo again soon, as Imabari products are continuously promoted in the UK.  While this was Imabari’s third overseas exhibition (after Helsinki, Finland in 2009 and Milan, Italy from 2011-2013), the brand plans to participate in future exhibitions in the UK such as the Birmingham Spring Fair in February 2015, and to explore retail shops in London.

Photos by Lucia Carpio for My Fashion Connect.