Yamazaki Velvet

Founded in 1962 and established in 1987, Yamazaki Velvet specializes in velvet cloth for garments with a distinct quality, expression, and feel. The company has a history of working with top Japanese designers in material development. In November 2019, Chairman Masaji Yamazaki became the first person in the textile industry to be selected as Outstanding Skilled Worker (Master Craftsman).

Company Name
Yamazaki Velvet
Address
9-29 Nakatsuyama-cho, Echizen City, Fukui 915-0253
Phone
+81-7-7843-1333
Website
https://yamazaki-velvet.com

Velvet technology for bringing out the best of difficult materials

Yamazaki Velvet’s main product is double velvet produced with the face-to-face method. The process involves connecting two layers of weave structure, called the “ground,” with loops made from the pile thread, which will ultimately form the raised surface, and then slicing through the middle with a blade to create two layers of velvet cloth simultaneously. Yamazaki Velvet handles difficult materials, such as extremely short or long fibers, and silk prone to pilling, making full use of long cultivated cutting techniques and customized machines. Thanks to a network of highly skilled craftsmen at dyeing and processing factories, the company produces velvet cloth found nowhere else.

Yuzo Yamashita 山下 祐三

Yuzo Yamashita has continued to meet the requests of renowned textile designers by employing velvet technology that brings out the best of difficult materials, such as extremely short or long fibers. In recent years, he has exhibited in Milano Unica (Italy) and expanded his market to luxury brands outside Japan.
Yamashita joined Yamazaki Velvet in 1988, was appointed as representative director in 2017, and established BATTAN BATTAN in 2019. Awards include women’s dress material finisher’s prize in the Japan Textile Contest (1993), and second prize in the Japan Textile Contest (2010).

Masaji Yamazaki 山﨑 昌二

Immediately after establishing his company, Masaji Yamazaki began working with designers in material development and opened up new realms of velvet. His advanced techniques for bringing out the best of difficult materials has formed the foundation of the company today. In the late 1980s, he was the partner of choice for the many Japanese “designer and character” (DC) brands that defied traditional fashion. His faith is to “develop and refine a class of one’s own.”
Yamazaki founded a velvet weaving business in 1962, established Yamazaki Velvet in 1987, and was appointed as chairman in 2002. Awards include Senken Shimbun Award and honorable mention in the Tokyo Textile Design Contest (1997). Two works were exhibited in “Structure and Surface” and accepted into the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art, New York (1998). In November 2019, he became the first person in the textile industry to be selected as Outstanding Skilled Worker (Master Craftsman).

Silk and Cashmere, Woven Together for the Ultimate in Comfort.
The Goal: A Velvet Stole Unlike Any the World Has Ever Seen.

I work with velvet fabric made with a focus on authentic materials, in pursuit of new forms of expression. Recently, much of my work has come to involve working directly with the designers at top luxury brands. Many ideas come from the process of working together to create these products — trying to meet surprising requests, or developing my own suggestions for unique fabrics and methods.
The idea for the fabric for this stole was built on these experiences: using the finest materials and bringing out the best of velvet’s texture and touch, in order to produce a stole unlike any the world has ever seen. The warp threads are cotton, while the weft threads are warm cashmere. For the pile, we used silk for its luster and softness. The result is a truly exceptional product, produced through much trial and error, that I hope to share with the world.

Product Name
COMFORT VELVET
Size
500 mm wide × 1,800 mm long
Materials
45% cashmere, 40% silk, 15% cotton

A stole that aspires to be a one-off that never existed before, created with the finest material to draw out the best quality and feel of velvet—.
Attractive Silk Velvet is made with silk for its luster and pleasant feel to the touch. Silk is a natural material gentle on the body. It has a high affinity with the skin and excellent moisture retention and quick-drying properties. Feel the therapeutic power of silk velvet, akin to the cocoon that safely embraces the silkworm.
The theme is traditional Japanese color layering (kasane-no-irome) expressed with Kyo-Yuzen gradation dyeing.

Product Name
Attractive Silk Velvet
Size
1,000 mm wide × 2,000 mm long
Materials
100% silk

Semi-sheer velvet suitable for the spring/summer season—. Float Velvet is made from supple silk cloth and a high-quality cupra pile pleasant to the touch, for a lightweight, sheer velvet that is appropriate even in the spring/summer season.
The theme is traditional Japanese color layering (kasane-no-irome) expressed with Kyo-Yuzen gradation dyeing.

Product Name
Float Velvet
Size
1,000 mm wide × 2,000 mm long
Materials
40% silk, 60% cupra