Not currently on display at the V&A

Air Packing

Sample
1997 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

The NUNO Corporation was founded in 1984. Based in Tokyo, its design studio creates modern textiles and accessories. NUNO designers are renowned for their ability to develop and apply the latest technology to textile design and manufacture. However, much of their work is also based on traditional Japanese textile techniques and aesthetics, and it is this fusion of the traditional with the contemporary that makes NUNO fabrics so innovative.

This grey coloured sample swatch of woven silk has the appearance of air packaging. This effect called 'Ensuku' or 'salt shrinking' is a time-honoured Japanese technique used to finish crepe silk and other textured fabrics, by soaking them in a neutral pH saline solution to reduce the fibres to the desired density. NUNO adapted this method of applying dye resist patterns to silk, by immersing them in a calcium nitrate solution that attacks the exposed areas, causing them to shrink dramatically while the resist coated areas remain unaffected.


Object details

Category
Object type
TitleAir Packing
Materials and techniques
Woven silk
Brief description
Sample swatch 'Air Packing' of woven silk, NUNO Corporation, Japan, 1997
Physical description
Sample swatch of woven silk. Labelled, SS-1039, Air Packing, Silk 1005, 75cm width.
Dimensions
  • Height: 30cm
  • Width: 29.8cm
Sample has one selvedge edge.
Credit line
Given by NUNO Corporation.
Object history
NUNO was founded in 1984 as a commercial venture dealing with all stages of textile creation: planning designing, manufacturing and sales. It is a small company which endeavours to combine the best of the past, by drawing on traditional Japanese aesthetics and creative processes, and combining them with modern technologies.
Summary
The NUNO Corporation was founded in 1984. Based in Tokyo, its design studio creates modern textiles and accessories. NUNO designers are renowned for their ability to develop and apply the latest technology to textile design and manufacture. However, much of their work is also based on traditional Japanese textile techniques and aesthetics, and it is this fusion of the traditional with the contemporary that makes NUNO fabrics so innovative.

This grey coloured sample swatch of woven silk has the appearance of air packaging. This effect called 'Ensuku' or 'salt shrinking' is a time-honoured Japanese technique used to finish crepe silk and other textured fabrics, by soaking them in a neutral pH saline solution to reduce the fibres to the desired density. NUNO adapted this method of applying dye resist patterns to silk, by immersing them in a calcium nitrate solution that attacks the exposed areas, causing them to shrink dramatically while the resist coated areas remain unaffected.
Other number
SS-1039
Collection
Accession number
T.118:34-1998

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Record createdFebruary 12, 2007
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