RIFATTO
ーHandcrafted Upcycled Fashion
Ground Floor / Library
In-room Workshop
About the Exhibitor
Long before fashion had a name, people stitched memory and prayer into cloth. From the looms of Mesopotamia to Japan’s boro and sashiko, textiles have been carried by human hands as one of our oldest languages. Rifatto brings that spirit into the present—not to look back with nostalgia, but to hand it forward. It repairs, mends, and breathes life back in. This is not merely clothing; it is a journey that reweaves time.
Yuya Kobayashi — Founded RIFATTO in 2009. Self-taught in sewing, he breathes new life into vintage garments. Captivated by the power of remake—transforming the old to create the singular—he employs Japanese practices such as boro and sashiko, alongside machine stitching, to craft one-of-a-kind pieces. Inspired by things in everyday life that let us wear (and feel) time, his work connects past, present, and future. Every vintage piece holds the story of its wearer; through the filter of remake, those stories are carried onward and rewritten.
About the Products
RIFATTO Boro Haori Jacket — Wearing a Century of Time
This one-of-a-kind haori-style jacket is rewoven from authentic Japanese antique textiles (c. 1920s–1940s). Every panel bears traces of life—boro patchwork and sashiko repairs that once extended everyday wear. By mending the past and tailoring it for today, RIFATTO invites you to wear time itself. Part of Rewoven Tales, RIFATTO’s ongoing practice of repairing, mending, and handing materials forward—not with nostalgia, but with responsibility for the future.
RIFATTO Boro Textile Art Panel — Time, Abstracted
Composed with RIFATTO’s original boro textiles, this wall piece abstracts the quiet drama of fabric as it ages—fading, fraying, storing memory. Rather than freezing time, the panel welcomes it: the surface will continue to evolve with light, air, and your everyday. Extending Rewoven Tales from garment to canvas, it invites reflection on care, longevity, and the beauty found in use.
