Vol.8 The Hand Behind the Machine
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On a knitwear mill in Wakayama, and the fabric that almost wasn't made.
In Wakayama, Japan, a knitwear mill has been running since the 1960s. Now led by the founder's grandson — the third generation — this factory has long supplied fabric to some of the world's most respected fashion houses. Today, designers from globally recognised luxury brands make the journey to Wakayama just to see how it's made.
The road here was not straightforward.
The Machine and the People Behind It
The second-generation president — now chairman — never hesitated to invest in machinery. The knitting machines he acquired in the 1970s, with specifications that were extraordinary even then, remain at the heart of the factory today.
But for many years, the business faced relentless pressure. Mass production, OEM contracts, and aggressive price competition made it difficult to survive — let alone to produce at the level these machines were capable of. The work that arrived rarely demanded what the machines could truly do.
In the midst of this, the second-generation president and his factory manager began a quiet experiment. They wanted to see what would happen if they simply let the machines perform at their full potential — no compromise, no cost ceiling. The machines themselves are old, but what matters is how they have been tuned and maintained over decades. The result was a fabric that would later become the foundation of the kitt 424 bare-loop jersey.
But that fabric never reached the market. The economics of the time made it impossible. It was set aside, and the years passed. Eventually, the company was handed to the next generation.
A Fabric Brought Back to Life
Four years ago, the third-generation president made a decision: to launch kitt as a factory brand. The machines were refined further, pushed toward a new standard — and the fabric that emerged, the kitt 424 bare-loop jersey, became something that could only be made here.
When industry veterans handle this fabric for the first time, they tend to go quiet. Then: remarkable. Like finding something you didn't know you'd been looking for. Those who have spent years working with textiles — who judge quality by feel, not by label — tend to find their way to kitt.
But That's Not What He's After
The third-generation president, who owns and runs kitt, has a different ambition.
He is not trying to build a brand for connoisseurs. He does not want people to be moved by the difficulty of what it took to get here.
He wants ordinary people to wear these sweatshirts in ordinary life. To pick one up, decide they want it, and buy it. And then — without quite noticing — to find themselves reaching for it every morning.
Because it just feels good.
That is the brand he is trying to build.
kitt 424 bare-loop jersey — knitted in Wakayama, dyed in Kyoto, sewn by Chêne in Akita. Available at SMOKE Kyoto — the only permanent stockist in Japan — and ships worldwide from our online store.