Digital Tools in the Fashion Industry: Fish Skin Garments and Ainu Fish Skin Traditions

Fish skin clothing is an ancient tradition shared by Arctic coastal societies, including the Indigenous Ainu People of Hokkaido Island, Japan. This research proposes the use of fish skin, a by-product of the seafood industry, as raw material for the fashion industry under zero waste principles. Different digital technologies were used to create a contemporary replica of an Ainu fish skin robe using a Japanese katazome indigo pattern. The study hypotheses what would have happened if, during the Meji era, the Japanese had brought their own katazome indigo dyeing traditions, blending them with Ainu traditional fish skin clothing. Firstly, we used the shape of an Ainu robe to create a fish skin module as a building block, testing its relevance for contemporary pattern making, while introducing parametric design tools testing zero waste principals. We then used digital animation software to create an Ainu avatar wearing a fish skin garment in a virtual context. Following the digitally created garment, we have indigo dyed the fish skins with katazome stencils and sewed a replica of the fish skin robe. The project aims to preserve traditional Ainu fish skin knowledge introducing digital technology for the design and production of zero-waste fish skin for fashion.