[IKEUCHI ORGANIC × RETO] We were given a special look at the design of the collaboration towel
Text: Yuki Yoshida
I didn't know that just like you need a blueprint to build a building, towels also have blueprints. The IKEUCHI ORGANIC × RETO collaboration towels are no exception, and they wouldn't be complete without a blueprint.
The blueprints contain the creator's thoughts
This is the design drawing for this collaborative towel, "IKEUCHI ORGANIC × RETO Sports Towel."
The blueprint summarizing "what kind of towel should be made" is filled with what kind of towel Daichi Kamino wanted. However, as you can see, it is difficult for an amateur to understand what is going on just by looking at it.
This time, we spoke to Ikeuchi Keiji, president of IKEUCHI ORGANIC, and Kamino Daichi, who are in charge of the design proposal for the collaborative towel, about the kind of discussions that took place before the blueprint for the collaborative towel was created.
A total of 546,000 variations. The design expresses a unique style.
── Please tell us about your job as a designer.
Representative Ikeuchi Keiji (hereinafter referred to as Ikeuchi): Towels are designed and then ultimately woven on a loom. The loom is basically computer-driven, so computer data must be fed into it. That data is the blueprint.
When it comes to computer data, a casual person like me wouldn't be able to do it well (laughs), so our designer, Yano, puts it all together and conveys it accurately to the factory.
-- Would you say that Ikeuchi is in charge of planning and design, and Yano is in charge of the details?
Ikeuchi: That's right. I tend to disregard productivity and other factors and design things that I think will ultimately please the customer. But that's not the case on the factory side. Yano is usually caught between me and the factory manager, which is very tough... (laughs).
── Are the design elements the thickness of the thread and the length of the pile? Can you tell us how you create the differences between each towel?
Ikeuchi: Towels have what's called the pile, which customers actually touch, and warp and weft threads that are hidden underneath but not visible from the outside. If you multiply the warp density, weft density, and pile length, etc., all of the different possibilities for towels, there are roughly 546,000 different combinations.
So, IKEUCHI ORGANIC has narrowed it down to 10 to 15 basic patterns for towel texture. Which of the 546,000 patterns is chosen is based on the ideas of the company's designers, and the towel will vary greatly depending on that choice.
So I think that these 10 to 15 varieties are what give IKEUCHI ORGANIC towels their distinctive "IKEUCHI" texture.
I was wondering why the smell remained even though I washed it properly.
When planning the collaborative towels, we started by choosing our favorite towels from the IKEUCHI ORGANIC lineup. Then we identified the current issues, and finally adjusted the design to complete the towels. This time, Daichi Kamino's biggest request was to do something about the odor problem.
Daichi Kamino (hereafter referred to as Kamino): To be honest, I haven't been particularly picky about towels until now. However, since I always carry one with me to practice, I was concerned about the smell of the towel.
Of course, you won't notice any unpleasant odor right away after buying the towel. However, since I sweat a lot and can't wash them right away, but rather wash them after I get home, I feel like the smell always lingers a little. The longer the smell lingers, the more I can wipe away sweat after using it for a few weeks.
This is just a concern I had, so of course it's not the same for everyone, but I often found myself thinking things like, "I wash my towels properly, so why does the smell still linger?"
-- I see. That may be a concern specific to athletes.
Have you ever wondered about the texture of towels?
Kamino: In terms of the feel on the skin and the way it felt when I wiped, it wasn't particularly uncomfortable, and I didn't really mind it. When I think about it, I have my own opinions, like "I wish it was a little fluffier" or "I prefer it to be fluffy rather than rough," but I don't think it was at a level that made it uncomfortable to use.
-- Was the smell also the main request that Kamino conveyed to Ikeuchi regarding the collaborative towel?
Kamino: Yes, it's definitely the smell issue.
Ikeuchi: You mentioned the smell in particular. You said that you preferred our No. 1 products, such as "Organic 120," in terms of texture, so I knew that, but I hadn't paid much attention to the smell until you mentioned it.
The issue of smelly towels is a common one, but usually when someone complains about a smell, the answer is usually, "You'll have to get it washed." However, I learned that athletes sweat at a completely different level than us.
When they first told me that it smelled bad, I replied that it would be inevitable after a few months (laughs), but they said, "No, it will go away immediately." As the most effective way to deal with the smell is to use fibers with antibacterial properties, I had them use a weft thread made of copper twisted yarn with antibacterial properties called cu+.
This allowed us to solve the issue of odor, and based on that, we decided to make it into a type of towel that would be easier to use, and that's how we came up with the ``IKEUCHI ORGANIC × RETO Sports Towel.''
Kamino: I actually used it for 3-4 months, and even after using it for a long time, there was no unpleasant odor, so I felt that it had antibacterial properties and was different from other towels.
── You said you like "Organic 120," but what kind of towels do you like specifically in terms of texture?
Kamino: First, I was sent several existing IKEUCHI ORGANIC towels, and after actually using them, the one I liked the most was "Organic 120." It's fluffy, but simple...
Ikeuchi: "Organic 120" is a model that we have been making for 23 years. I say that if there is only one type of towel in the world, there is only one series.
I sent a sample thinking that adding cu+ to a 7 Series such as "Organic 732" would definitely work, but they flatly said it was no good (laughs). That's when I realized that it had to be the 1 Series, and so in the end, the 1 Series became the base.
── What was different about the 7 Series from your perspective?
Kamino: The 7 Series is a bit stiff.
Ikeuchi: That's right. We were told that it was a little too thick to carry around.
Jinno: That's right, runners take towels outside with them. They often put them in their bags and use them at the practice field, so we didn't want them to be bulky, so we asked for a towel with a simple texture rather than a fluffy one.
(Touching Organic 732) This is 7, right? I prefer this one (Organic 120). I think 7 is definitely more fluffy, but it's a bit hard for how fluffy it is.
Organic 120 (left) and Organic 732 (right) Image provided by: IKEUCHI ORGANIC Co., Ltd.
Ikeuchi: The thread is about 40% larger.
Kamino: Even now, I still prefer this one (Organic 120) (laughs).
── Did you have any requests regarding size?
Jinno: I rarely take both a bath towel and a face towel to the practice field, and I would prefer to have one towel for everything if possible. In terms of size, I wanted one that was wide enough to wrap around my waist so I could use it in the bath or public bath, so I conveyed that request.
── Do you have any particular preferences for design or color?
Kamino: Yes, IKEUCHI ORGANIC's antibacterial towel (CU+ Organic 140 Muffler Towel) has a design with an outer edge, but this time I asked for a more basic design.
CU+ Organic 140 muffler towel. Image provided by: IKEUCHI ORGANIC Co., Ltd.
Kamino: Regarding the colors, there are three in total (navy, charcoal gray, and orange), but I asked for one to be a bright color. I personally like bright colors because I feel that bright colors match the physique that has been worked so hard to create, and I think they make people look cooler.
No compromises, even down to the "tenths of a millimeter"
── With all the different requests from Kamino, what was the biggest challenge for Representative Ikeuchi?
Ikeuchi: This towel uses metal for antibacterial purposes. It feels strange when that metal touches the skin directly, so the ideal solution would be to hide it completely. Our antibacterial models (such as the CU+ Organic 140 Muffler Towel) have the entire towel wrapped in knit. However, wrapping it in knit doesn't give it a sharp look, and the towel doesn't have a neat rectangular shape.
As for the collaborative towel, the edges have been removed, which means that copper is exposed on both sides. There are parts that can be hidden from a design perspective, but the 5mm or so area on the edge where there is no pile cannot be hidden, so we are currently covering that area with 4mm of organic sewing thread. I thought this was fine, but when I met with Kamino-san the other day (one week before the interview), he told me, "It still feels a little strange" (laughs), so we are currently changing the design.
Everyone: Oh! Really?
Ikeuchi: Right now, there's about 1mm left on the front side (where the copper is visible), and about 0.8mm left on the back side (where the copper is visible). If we set this to 0, the sewing machine will come loose. So, since we know that it can't be set to 0 during the sewing machine process, we asked them to shorten it even by a few tenths of a millimeter (laughs). We asked them to shorten it as much as they could before the actual sewing begins, and they're currently working on it.
-- What exactly was the discomfort you felt, Mr. Kamino?
Jinno: I didn't feel anything strange when I dried myself with a towel, but when I wore it around my neck after a shower, the exposed copper part touched my skin a little, and although it didn't sting, I still felt something. However, since I'm particular about the smell, I think that was inevitable.
I had never worn it around my neck before, but when I happened to wear it around my neck, I noticed it for the first time, so I honestly told him about it when we met the other day.
-- It may be that Ikeuchi was able to address the small discomfort that Kamino felt by working on improvements right up until the very last minute without compromising, but were there any requests during the development stage that you thought "there's no way this can be fulfilled"?
Jinno: No. For us, there was nothing we couldn't achieve. On the contrary, it feels like we were able to achieve everything we wanted to achieve this time.
── So that's perfect.
Jinno: That's true. However, if I had to say, the last thing is how clear the sense of incongruity I mentioned earlier will be.
Ikeuchi: You can't make everything zero (laughs). It's like trying to pack it in as close as possible to the point where the sewing machine thread is about to fall off.
(Takagi Seiya, the person in charge of the RETO business who was watching the interview): Mr. Ikeuchi, Mr. Kamino and I have spoken about this matter, and while we have honestly expressed our discomfort, the fact remains that we are using such materials. Of course, we are very grateful that you have gone to the very last minute to resolve the issue, but we are truly satisfied with the product... Thank you very much.
From now on, I will be using these towels carefully.
Image provided by: IKEUCHI ORGANIC Co., Ltd.
── Now that the collaboration towel is finally complete, what are your thoughts on using it, Kamino?
Kamino: Yes, I use it almost every day now, and I don't have any issues with the smell. I now have a towel that I thought would be great, and I'm grateful that IKEUCHI ORGANIC was able to create it for me.
── Do you feel more excited when you use a towel?
Jinno: Yes! I think I mentioned before that I didn't have any particular preferences when it came to towels, but when I actually had these towels made and used them, I thought it was very important to make sure that I didn't feel even the slightest bit of discomfort.
It may not have a huge impact on my performance, but it was important to me that when I wiped the sweat off my face after a hard practice session, I didn't think, "That stinks!" (laughs). It may be a small thing, but it was important to me.
-- You said you weren't particularly picky, but I got the impression that you're quite picky about the details. Do you actually have high standards for what you're picky about in your daily life?
Jinno: My personality is such that I tend to stick with things that I think are good. For example, when it comes to running shoes, and when I go out to eat, I'm not the type to take risks; I'll go to this place for ramen or this place for yakiniku.
When I say I didn't have any particular preferences, I mean that until now, towels have never been the kind of thing that I would choose and always prefer. This time, I started thinking about what kind of sports towel I would like, and finally started to pay attention to towels. So, I think that from now on, I will continue to use this towel (collaboration towel) with care for a long time.
"Are you making thread just for the sample?" I was told angrily.
── I heard that Mr. Ikeuchi was particular about using organic sewing thread for samples.
Ikeuchi: We have declared that we will be switching to organic sewing thread as of November 13th of last year (2021). The sample of the collaboration towel is a sample from after that date, so it uses organic sewing thread.
The sewing thread used to sew the sides is a different type than before, so (an internal employee) asked me, "Are you making new thread just to send a sample to Mr. Kamino?" (laughs), and I said, "Of course" (laughs).
I got quite angry and was told to stop messing around (laughs).
(Afterword)
The basis of a towel is a blueprint.
When we unravel the blueprints, we can get a glimpse of the thoughts and sometimes conflicts of those involved. This time, we were given a special look at the blueprints to look back on the birth of the "IKEUCHI ORGANIC × RETO Sports Towel."
Thank you, IKEUCHI ORGANIC!
