Masataka Hosoo didn’t think he would take up the family business. His father, an 11th generation weaver of the Hosoo textile mill that first started production in Kyoto in 1688, encouraged his son to try other careers.
The scion first decided to pursue creative ventures like music production in Tokyo. But, when his father started to take the business overseas for the first time, Masataka was inspired by the prospect of adapting their traditional Japanese craft for a global audience. And so, taking on several centuries of family legacy, he became the 12th generation to lead the business.
The Mind Landscape exhibition presented the Hosoo collection during Milan Design Week
As president and CEO, Masataka is pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in the weaving world.
In 2010, he invented a loom that can manufacture textiles as wide as 150 centimeters (traditional Japanese looms produce at a width of 32 centimeters). This allowed Hosoo to expand beyond making kimonos and enter the design arena with Nishijin textiles (which are known by their high-mix, low-volume production) that, for more than a thousand years before, had been limited to Japan’s high-end, bespoke market.
“I believe that the strength of tradition lies in its ability to absorb innovation and modernity, thus continually evolving,” he says. “The possibilities of textiles are limitless.”
Now, the studio’s creations can be found in many hospitality spaces, such as the Ritz-Carlton and Four Seasons in Tokyo, and the brand has also forged high-profile partnerships with luxury brands like Lexus and Gucci.
The interior of the LS, Lexus’ flagship sedan, is swathed in Hosoo textiles
In 2023, Masataka partnered with Paris-based art collective LVMH Métiers d’Art to help Hosoo’s expansion in an effort to maintain and sustain the silk industry in Japan. That same year, Hosoo opened its first international showroom in Milan. Masataka cites not only the Italian city’s revered design culture but also its thriving population of family-run businesses as reasons he wanted to launch a flagship there.
The company’s latest textile collection, the Mind Landscape, debuted earlier this year. A collaboration with AMDL Circle founder Michele De Lucchi, the line features four distinct patterns that merge micro and macro perspectives of nature through a combination of close-up photos and satellite images of trees.
For Masataka, the collection and every new venture or project is a chance to uphold the legacy of the weavers of centuries past with whom he shares a name.
“Our goal is to create textiles that defy conventional expectations—to craft fabrics no one has ever seen before,” he says, “because beautiful things transcend eras and generations.”
The Milan exhibition showcased new textiles, as well as objects and photographs that inspired the creative process
Red Oak, part of the Mind Landscape line, boasts a labyrinth of patterns within each weave
Organic lines and curves intertwine in the Red Elm pattern
This article originally appeared in HD’s November 2024 issue.
