You Never Knew Nylon Could Be This Beautiful
Every outdoorsy hiking brand is exacting about its technical fabrics. After all, they need to perform under the stress of snowy mountains and long days of trekking. But Aton is finicky about far more than just performance.
While its nylon utility pants are plenty functional, thanks to the quick-drying, wrinkle-resistant fabric and an adjustable elastic waistband, it’s the exact fit and feel of the legwear that’s really been poured over.
First, the custom fabric is woven in Hokuriku, a Japanese coastal region known for textile manufacturing to meet Aton’s desire for a “natural and delicate wavy texture,” before it’s hand-dyed by artisans trained in the over-400-year-old practice of narumi, which forms intricate tie-dye patterns through traditional folding and stitching techniques.
The time spent on all this patient practice is impressive in and of itself, but it’d be wasted if it didn’t result in a more beautiful product. Fortunately, for all the fabric weavers and dyers who’ve dedicated their time to the utility pants, they are exceptional pants. The loose fit gives them an easygoing casualness and the delicate texture created by all that handiwork results in a softer look rare to find in weatherproof technical goods.
You could almost mistake these utilitarian pants for casual cotton slacks at first glance. And that’s the kind of fabric trickery Aton revels in.
The decade-old Japanese label’s range spans from slouchy tailoring to Vibram-soled leather flip-flops, but focus on its weatherproof gear and there are sporty windbreakers where the custom fabric’s nylon filament yarn is woven at the highest possible density creating a crispness foreign to regular nylon and airy nylon taffeta shorts designed to achieve the “luster and fullness of natural fibers,” according to the brand.
And that’s the thing, these kinds of patient ancient techniques are typically used exclusively on natural fibers that take on subtle inconsistencies only possible through meticulous craft. But our most functional clothes should also be blessed with the beauty of handwrought inconsistencies, and Aton is making that happen.
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