Promotion: Japanese hemp textile brand Majotae launched its debut collection of hemp bedding at Milan design week with two exhibitions in the city.
Titled Majotae 9490, the collection of flat sheets, duvet covers and pillowcases is a collaboration between Majotae and Teruhiro Yanagihara Studio, an interdisciplinary practice based in Arles, France and Kobe, Japan.
The brand draws upon Japan's traditional taima-fu hemp fabric industry
Majotae works with hemp fabric due to its practical benefits as the material is durable, antibacterial, quick-drying, odour-resistant and suitable for many temperatures.
Additionally, the studios said that as the material softens over time, the bedding is also designed to become more comforting for its owners with each use. Majotae has focused on incorporating contemporary technological advances and production processes with artisanal skills developed in Japan's traditional taima-fu hemp fabric industry.
Hemp has a long and rich history in Japan going back over 10,000 years, the brand said.
The material "has had a variety of uses over time, from shimenawa rope used to ward off evil spirits, to kesho-mawashi loincloths used by the highest rank of sumo wrestlers ? the yokozuna," said the company.
The company cited the industrial revolution as a turning point for hemp cloth to fall largely out of production, as hemp fibres were considered unsuitable for mechanical spinning.
"The fibre is now attracting global attention once more du...