Boro — Textiles that tell a story
It’s easy to look at an old garment or piece of fabric and not think about its origins. But delve a little deeper and start to notice stitches in a different thread, or places where something has been mended, and you’ll soo begin to realise that textiles can tell a story. The Japanese art of boro is the perfect example of this. If you’ve never heard of boro, read on, and let us introduce you to your next creative obsession!
What is Boro?
Boro refers to a style of Japanese textiles that have been mended or patched together. Derived from the Japanese word boroboro, meaning something tattered or repaired, boro emerged during the 19th and early 20th centuries, and is mainly associated with clothing worn by the peasant and farming classes in rural northern Japan.
As cotton wasn’t readily available in Japan at the time, it was a luxury that could only be afforded by the upper classes. However, being warmer than hemp (the main fabric available to the poorer classes), peasants and farmers were still eager to get their hands on it, and often managed to obtain cotton scraps and rags from rag merchants.
These cotton scraps were joined together with scraps of hemp using running stitch or sashiko stitch. In some cases, scraps were sewn together to form a larger piece of cloth to be used as bedding or futon covers, and other times scraps were used to patch holes and prolong the life of items of clothing, such as work coats. This patching and stitching, along with the blue indigo dyes that were common at the time have given rise to boro’s distinctive, haphazard patchwork style.
Textiles that tell a story
Boro grew out of the necessity to mend and preserve clothing, rather than a desire for decoration or aesthetics. This meant that by the mid-twentieth century, it came to be seen as a negative symbol of the poorer northern peasant classes, and fell out of favour with the Japanese people.
This is a great shame when you think of all the stories a boro piece could tell. They were often handed down for generations, with each new scrap of fabric adding to the patchwork of stories, and each line of stitching revealing something of the garment’s history.
Boro today
Fortunately, changes in fashion mean that boro hasn’t disappeared. We frequently see traces of boro in modern clothing that has been made to look patched and distressed. Many fashion brands have taken direct inspiration from boro, and there is even a piece in Australian clothing brand Gorman’s recent collection that we definitely think is boro inspired!
Some original boro pieces have been preserved, like this beautiful robe at the V & A museum (click here), and we even have a gorgeous kimono and rags in our own collection at Opendrawer (pictured above).
Boro at Opendrawer
If you’re now itching to try your hand at boro, you’re in luck! Robyn-Steel Stickland will be teaching her Boro Style workshop as part of our 2019 Summer School.
*Please note, this piece was originally published on Opendrawer’s blog at www.opendrawer.com.au, which is no longer live as of Jan, 2020. The article was create to provide value to Opendrawer’s customers, while helping to advertise Opendrawer’s classes.