Kuon Patchwork Hoodie

Most patchwork is built on contrast, because contrast is what makes the pieces read as pieces. Working the whole thing in one color family is the harder and quieter version: the panels are legible from the seams and from small shifts in depth rather than from any change of hue, so the garment reads as a texture at a distance and as construction up close. Navy is the right family for it. Indigo-dyed cotton ends up at different depths depending on how many dips it took and how much wear it has had since, so a range of navies is what a pile of used indigo cloth actually looks like, and building a garment from that range is the boro argument made without any of boro’s visual noise. There is a structural consequence too, and it is the reason this is worth owning rather than looking at. A hoodie is ordinarily made from four or five large pieces. Assembled from patches it has seams running through the body and the sleeves, and seams change how a soft garment hangs; it holds a little more shape and moves in sections rather than as one sheet.

Why we selected it

Tonal patchwork is a much harder thing to make than contrast patchwork and a much easier thing to wear. We would rather sell a hoodie somebody wears than one they explain.

Patchwork is a construction method in this house rather than a decorative one, and the hoodie is where that lands on the most ordinary possible garment.

Materials and construction

One hundred percent cotton, made in Japan. Constructed from patches in various shades of navy. Color: Navy.

Fit notes

We hold no cut description for this hoodie. A patched garment has more seams than a plain one, so it holds its shape slightly better and gives slightly less, and it will not stretch out at the elbow the way a single piece of jersey does.

Styling

With the Hakama Trouser in black or the Aizome Slub Wide Trouser. Under the Fanage Corduroy Blazer, where navy under olive is the least obvious of the good options. With the Boro Bucket Hat, if you want the two patchworked things together.

Care

Wash cool and inside out, and dry flat rather than hanging, because a garment with this many seams pulls unevenly on a hanger while it is wet. Keep it out of a hot dryer. Our care guidance covers the rest.

Related pieces

The Kumihimo Hoodie is named for a braided cord, and the Twisted Sleeve Hoodie is cotton with a sleeve built on a turn. Everything we carry from Kuon is listed together.