When I asked Noriko Seki and Keiichi Muramatsu of Everlasting Sprout what defines their aesthetic, they politely guided me back to the poetic concept for the label: “Sometimes we encounter something lovely and charming, Sometimes something cruel, even grotesque. ‘Something’ can easily leap across the boundaries of picture books, fairy tales, yet, music or paintings. We can feel ‘something’ in the texture, odor or even taste. ‘Something’ is hidden here and there…”. Something in the creations of Everlasting Sprout strikes a chord that refuses to be classified.

Everlasting Sprout s/s 2007

As a novice knitter, my understanding of the craft’s many applications is narrow, so every time I encounter creative designs such as those by Everlasting Sprout my horizons broaden. “Knitwear has a lot of fascinating aspects. The biggest point is that you can create knit fabrics, colors, textures and silhouettes - whatever you want; just like painting a picture.”

Everlasting Sprout “Twin Fairies”, detail www.everlasting-sprout.com

Everlasting Sprout s/s 2007

Everlasting Sprout s/s 2007, detail

Everlasting Sprout s/s 2007

Everlasting Sprout s/s 2007

Everlasting Sprout s/s 2007, detail

Everlasting Sprout s/s 2007

After graduating from Bunka Fashion College in Tokyo, Seki and Muramatsu went their separate ways to gather real world experience. While Muramatsu interned at Linea Piu (a yarn company) in Florence, Italy, Seki worked as a freelance designer in Tokyo. When Muramatsu returned they founded Everlasting Sprout and showed their first collection in the spring of 2005. “Lately, we have started to expand in our field, such as participating in Pitti Filati in Florence and getting an order from a multi-label store in Germany. Also, we collaborate with various designers in terms of knitwear, making costumes and working as a knitwear consultant for both domestic and international companies.”

Everlasting Sprout’s work exhibited at Pitti Filati

Everlasting Sprout’s work exhibited at Pitti Filati

Everlasting Sprout’s work exhibited at Pitti Filati

The inherent difficulty in mass-producing their knitwear protects Everlasting Sprout from being consumed by the blanket uniformity that many labels suffer from. “[W]e cannot tell specifically how long it takes to make a garment. On occasion, we spend more than a week just to make one garment by both of us, so it really depends…Most of the time Seki takes care of the key concept, for instance the visual image and color story. Then, based on Seki’s idea, Muramatsu expands it more, and mold it into the shape.”

Everlasting Sprout

Everlasting Sprout

Today’s insistence on defining everything through raw empirical data allows little room for mystery, but the spirit in even the most ordinary things can stir up emotions that keeps the everlasting sprout alive in all of us.