JAPANESE MILLENARY ART FOR ALEIX ESPARGARÓ'S HELMET

A motorcycle helmet is basically a safety element, and as such it is obliged to undergo very severe tests before being homologated. But for Kabuto, the Japanese brand that sponsors Aleix Espargaró, a helmet is something much more. An approach that was once again evident during the World Championship’s visit to Japan this weekend. As usual since Aleix became Kabuto’s reference rider, for the ‘home GP’ the brand’s marketing department always ‘invents’ something special.

 

If last year the special helmet design evoked the ‘anime’ culture with Espargaró’s passion for cycling, this time the eye-catching design combines Kabuto’s link as a sack in sprint cycling with the design shown by the Olympic athletes in Paris 2024.  

 

But this time the marketing department went one step further, as in addition to the special helmet for Motegi, Aleix Espargaró was presented with three versions of Kabuto cycling helmets: aero-road, ultralight-road, track-cycling  and an amazing helmet cover… Yes, yes, I know, what could be so special about a simple helmet cover?

 

In any other part of the world probably nothing, but not in Japan, where the culture for details is part of their DNA. And in this case the result is a work of art. Because the result of applying the Kyo Yuzen technique to the stamping of the helmet cover cannot be described in any other way.

 

Kyo Yuzen is a dyed and woven item produced throughout Kyoto Prefecture. It is characterized by rich colors and patterns called Yuzen patterns, which express animals and utensils in a pictorial manner. The Kyo Yuzen tradition has also been followed in the material used to produce the helmet cover: silk.

Kyo Yuzen

Kyo Yuzen can be divided into two types: “hand-painted Yuzen” and “stenciled Yuzen”. The technique used in this project is “stencil Yuzen”, which makes it possible to produce several items at once. As for the dyeing method, “shigoki-zome” is used, in which a paste of glutinous rice flour and dye is spread on the fabric with a spatula. This dyeing process requires a high level of experience and skill. Also, since the fabric is dyed one color at a time, the number of stencils needed is equal to the number of colors used. Thus, the number of stencils will depend on the number of colors used and the complexity of the pattern, and in some cases up to 100 stencils may be used for a single pattern.

 

In addition to this series of dyeing processes, the colors are steamed after the gradation is completed by ‘hiki-zome’ dyeing. The product is then finished by applying gold foil stamping and embroidery. In total, there are more than 10 processes.

About the production of the ‘Kyo Yuzen’ helmet cover.

 

“The production of Kyo Yuzen’s traditional industry decreases year by year. We proposed and produced this holster in the hope that people who like motorcycles and racing would also be interested in the traditional techniques used in Japanese art. The idea is to convey the techniques that gave rise to the history, background and technology of the product and to encourage people to be interested in these things and to continue to develop new products.” Masaaki Wada.

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