From left to right: Yoshiharu Toyama • Indigoist | Makoto Horii • SUKUMO Leather Founder | Naoyuki Asai • Second-Generation SUKUMO Dyer

MENS LEATHER MAGAZINE

CONVERSATION WITH MAKOTO HORII
FOUNDER OF SUKUMO LEATHER
June 24th 2019

“Fourteen years have now passed since I first began developing Sukumo Leather. At that time, I was working in my family’s handbag manufacturing business, as day by day Japan’s leather industry slid deeper into difficulties. Under the old-fashioned wholesale system, manufacturers were weak and powerless; even if we made something of high quality, the price would be unilaterally beaten down.

I had to find a way to break out of that system! As the second generation of my family business, I determined on the course we would take, and took the first steps in that direction more than fourteen years ago.

 In the wake of my encounter with Mr. Naoyuki Asai, a second-generation artisan kimono dyer of Kyoto, I fell in love with the beauty and allure of the natural indigo dye I experienced for the first time.

‘How wonderful it would be to apply this beauty to leather!’ I thought. It all sprang from this initial excitement.

 Back then, an internet search revealed that there was hardly anything to be found anywhere by the name of indigo-dyed leather, so...
‘If we could make natural indigo-dyed leather, we could have an independent business!”

We were united by this hope, along with a strong sense of purpose as the inheritors of our respective family businesses.

 Japan's traditional Tokushima Awa indigo has been treasured for more than 600 years.

Using the precious sukumo leaves which the indigo masters process by hand, the dyeing process works by the power of nature alone: “genuine indigo dyeing fermented with natural lye.”

It was a great challenge to successfully marry the animal nature of leather with the botanical nature of natural indigo.

Due to the indigo’s strong alkalinity, if the dyeing process is carried out in the usual way, the surface of the leather is hardened and seared.

Once the leather is hardened, it can never regain its former softness.

The Sukumo Leather process was painstakingly perfected through much trial and error, over the course of eight years, to finally achieve a soft and supple leather dyed with natural indigo.

 Representatives of the fashion houses around Paris invariably commented on the leather's lovely shade of pure natural blue, and highly praised its soft feel.

These qualities are not the result of any final finishing process, such as chemicals to doctor the surface, or pigment to adjust the hue.

Instead, these qualities are imbued in the essence of the leather itself, free of artifice.

 I would love many more people to have the chance to enjoy the exquisite colour of the traditional Japanese natural indigo—pure natural blue—and the feel of the soft and supple texture of real leather.

Now, at the dawn of the new Japanese era, Reiwa, it gives me great pleasure that the products of Sukumo Leather are reaching so many people.

Thank you all, from the bottom of my heart!

SUKUMO Leather • Makoto Horii

For the Japanese version, please click to the link below: http://www.mensleathermagazine.com/

From left to right: Makoto Horii • SUKUMO Leather Founder | Yoshiharu Toyama • Indigoist | Naoyuki Asai • Second-Generation SUKUMO Dyer