JUN SUGIMAE

1983年、大阪府生まれ。

服飾学校でテーラリングを学んだ後、ロンドンでブランドアシスタントや舞台衣装制作など多彩な現場に身を置く。2006年に帰国し、スポーツウェアのデザイナーとしてキャリアを歩み始める。

最先端の素材や機能性に触れる日々の中で、「昔から続く手仕事にも同じくらいの力があるのではないか」という興味が芽生え、それが後の創作へとつながっていく。

2014年、数百年受け継がれてきた刺し子の技法に出会い、自身の表現として深めていく。スニーカーやマウンテンパーカーなど現代のプロダクトに、針と糸だけで補修と装飾を施すことで、伝統技術に新しい役割と領域を与えることを目指している。

藍染や柿渋染めなど天然染料による染色も自ら行い、糸や布だけでなくスニーカーそのものにまで染めを施すことで、「素材が変化していくこと」そのものを作品の物語として取り込む。

伝統に根ざしながらも、常に現代と未来に接続する視点を持ち続け、刺し子の可能性を拡張し続けている。

Born in Osaka Prefecture in 1983.

Born in Osaka in 1983, Jun Sugimae first studied tailoring before moving to London, where he worked across brand assistance, stage costume production, and various creative environments. After returning to Japan in 2006, he began his career as a sportswear designer.

Working closely with advanced materials and performance technologies gradually led him to wonder whether the power of traditional, time-honored techniques could coexist—and even resonate—with the innovations of modern manufacturing. That question became a turning point in his creative path.

In 2014, Sugimae encountered the centuries-old craft of sashiko and began developing it as his own method of expression. By applying hand stitching—using only needle and thread—to contemporary items like sneakers and technical outerwear, he seeks to expand the role of traditional techniques and open new territories between craft and product.

He also practices natural dyeing with indigo and persimmon tannin, dyeing not only sashiko threads but sometimes the sneakers themselves, incorporating the evolving character of the material into the narrative of the work.

Rooted in tradition yet always reconstructed through a contemporary outlook, his practice continues to explore how sashiko can evolve and speak to the future.