A Small Landscape Called Forestière
こんばんは。cantáte 松島です。
Good evening. This is Matsushima from cantáte.
When making clothes, there are moments when “the words come afterward,” rather than being conceived and created from the outset, as they emerge from the materials and silhouette before your eyes.
That fleeting feeling of a name taking root.
This jacket, bearing the name Forestière, was precisely one such piece.
<cantáte>
”Corduroy Forestiere Jacket”
COL : NAVY , MAORN
SIZE : 44, 46, 48
¥352,000- TAX IN
<cantáte>
”Wool Flannel Forestiere Jacket”
SIZE : 44, 46, 48
¥385,000- TAX IN
A masterpiece left behind by Parisian institution ARNY’S.
Loved beyond gender, it occupies a distinctive position that is neither workwear nor dresswear.
What would happen if that atmosphere were reinterpreted in Japan, through a contemporary sensibility?
The answer was surprisingly quiet and profound.
A discussion of its construction—structure within “looseness”
The Forestière has two major characteristics.
One is a relaxed body and wide sleeves.
The other is the way it carries a somewhat poetic atmosphere.
Both of these are very simple when put into words.
But when you actually try it on, you realize that it is not “mere looseness.”
and the shoulder line flows just slightly toward the back.
The generous volume in the sleeves does not fall forward even when the arms are lowered,
yet it naturally follows the lines of the body.
There are few pattern lines and no ornamentation,
making the atmosphere the moment you put it on feel unusually rich.
This is something cantáte has always valued,
It is “design that looks as though it was not designed.”
There are few moments designed to draw attention.
Yet the unseen parts are doing their work properly.
One symbol of this was the combination of linings.
Why three types of lining are used in unseen places
The Forestière is not a garment completed by its outer fabric alone.
Rather, it is on the inside that the “quality of comfort” resides.
For this jacket, we selected and used three types according to their purpose.
The upper body has a smooth cotton-rayon lining.
It does not hinder movement from the shoulders through the back, quieting even the presence of the garment when lightly thrown on.
Durable cotton flannel is used for the lower body and cuffs.
It absorbs perspiration, releases moisture in moderation, and feels warm the moment it touches the skin.
The more you wear it, the soft nap settles into the movement of your body.
The sleeve lining is a blend of cotton and raw silk.
Stronger than wool, yet not as delicate as silk.
That “smoothly falling” comfort you feel every time you slip it on comes from here.
none of them is flashy.
But by choosing these three correctly and assigning each to the right place,
the Forestière becomes “a garment that simply lets you wear the air.”
Fabric ①: Corduroy’s quiet statement
this Forestière begins, first of all, with corduroy.
Even when you simply call it corduroy,
We did not want it to end as merely a sweet fabric.
cantáte’s corduroy
Not ordinary cotton yarn, but a special material made by raising the density to its limit and carefully shearing the fibers.
A brushed suede-like hand and a deep luster.
Despite its weight, it is supple.
You can tell instantly, just by touching it: “Ah, this is not ordinary.”
Balancing softness and refinement is surprisingly difficult with corduroy.
For the sleeve and collar piping, we deliberately useroughout (reverse side) suede sheepskin.
A touch of fuzz and roughness collides with the elegance of corduroy,
It moves toward “harmony” as a single garment.
It is not perfect.
Yet that slight “fluctuation” enriches the garment.
Fabric ②: The quiet solidity of wool flannel
The other forestière,
Flannel made from special Super120’s wool twill.
once woven, this fabric takes more than two months of finishing alone.
Through careful fulling and shearing, the fabric is slowly infused with air,
A voluminous texture and deep shadows whose expression changes with the light comes into being.
soft, yet possessing a quiet sense of purpose.
Neither classic nor avant-garde,
a presence defined by “simply being luxurious.”
Entrefinos suede is applied to the collar and pockets,
their lightness and smoothness lend depth to the flannel.
both forestières,
The beauty is that the fabric itself “does not say too much,”
It naturally settles into the wearer’s life.
The essence of the forestière—clothing that drapes you in atmosphere
This jacket is by no means flashy.
yet the moment it settles on your shoulders, the air changes.
Remarkably light,
And yet it gives you the feeling that “your own outline becomes more distinct.”
A damp, quiet stillness, as though it had passed through the forests of old France.
Then the atmosphere of Japanese streets begins to overlap with it.
It carries no scent of trends.
Yet it is not a reproduction of vintage clothing.
Reweaving French workwear with “a contemporary sensibility.”
That is the kind of clothing it is.
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cantáte ”Denim 1955 Trousers”
Styling—for poetry, work, or everyday life
That is what makes the forestière so compelling,
“Its expression changes with the wearer’s way of life.”
With denim, it becomes urban workwear with the tension released.
Paired with slacks, it lets intelligence show through.
It blends in naturally even when worn over a sweatshirt.
the sleeve volume, the relaxed body.
They are all “casual,”
because there is a sound design beneath it, it never dictates how it should be worn.
As if,A balance that feels as though the spaciousness of everyday life has been translated directly into clothing.
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cantáte ”Rough Flannel Shirt”
cantáte ”Denim Flare Trousers”
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In the end—what remains quietly, and strongly
While making the forestière,
There is a phrase that has stayed in my mind for a long time.
“Build sincerity into the unseen structure.”
The parts that no one may ever notice.
But if you cut corners there, something suddenly feels much lighter.
Making clothes is not glamorous, and it is rarely praised.
yet as time passes, the difference between “clothing made properly” and “clothing that was not” grows larger.
This forestière,
we believe it is a piece that embodies that kind of “quiet sincerity.”
As if draping yourself in the air of the forest,
Simply throwing it on makes life a little richer.
We want it to be that kind of clothing.
cantáte Matsushima Shin
