re:Pair, a collaboration with Matter
It’s serendipitous to uncover what led Matter's Ho Ren Yung (Ren) to our doorstep more than two years ago. What began as a gifting project - a patchwork bag made from 70 pieces of fabric- turned out to be just the beginning of a creative partnership.
Matter’s mission has clarity: To inspire consumers to value provenance - to ask of the where and why something is made, and to champion alternative production models for textile artisans to expand their economic freedom. They connect communities to opportunity, creating travel ware with stories to tell.
This partnership connects to our ethos of creating lasting and beautiful things, while seeing value and beauty in things that already exist. It wasn’t difficult for us at FIN to say yes to this collaboration.
re:Pair is a celebration of the kimono, a garment that is found in abundance all over Kyoto. The kimono is crafted with great reverence and particular artistry, so it can be worn with ceremony and pride.
Creating and repairing is not a luxury or passing act of pleasure. It’s how the unconscious reveals itself, through the rhythm of the needle as it glides through the fabric we mend. Through the texture of the textiles that were re:Paired with broken garments, our threads bind it all together.
It is our hope, that our pieces reveals itself through the story of the journey that the garment went through; from the moment it reaches our hands, to the story it gets to tell the world when it is worn again.
We explored various techniques of giving prominence to the kimono fragments before deciding to borrow the concept of marumado. Marumado is a circular window feature found in Japanese tea houses, a subtle design element that breaks the monotony of straight lines and angles, to provide a beautiful view of the garden. Each heirloom piece is framed in a manner that could ease its way into your wardrobe, and nudge you into seeing the value that it once had.
The act of creating something from what seems like nothing, is always more important than the result. We worked hard and over a long period of time, on bridging our two ideologies to bring you a collection that stays true to our calling and speaks volumes about what Matters to us.
We would love for you to join us at the quiet launch of re:Pair, a collaboration between Matter + FIN, on 29th of August at 7pm, at:
47 Jalan Pemimpin, Halcyon 2, #03-07 Singapore 577200
Remember - We are not broken, we are in a state of repair.
Thank you for holding space for us, we can't wait to reveal what we've created for you.
Nana & Fahmy