Waterbased Dyes: The Color Process Behind SS26

The color in our hand-dyed pieces does not come from a formula. It comes from time, temperature, and accumulated decisions made at the dye bath. The waterbased dyes we use for the SS26 run are pigment systems that bond differently depending on fiber content, pre-treatment, and the duration of immersion. They are not predictable in the way industrial dye processes are predictable. That is why we use them.

Waterbased dye systems have a lower environmental load than solvent or reactive alternatives. They do not require the acid baths or fixation chemicals that other dye classes demand. The trade-off is penetration depth and colorfastness under certain wash conditions — both of which we address through extended immersion times and a cold-water fixation rinse developed over several seasons of testing.

The Dye Bath

Each dye bath is prepared by hand. Water temperature is held within a narrow range — deviation of more than a few degrees changes the uptake rate and shifts the final color. The garment enters the bath in a specific sequence depending on how many color zones are intended. Single-color pieces are fully immersed. Gradient or panel-dyed pieces are partially suspended, with sections kept out of contact with the liquid.

Duration in the bath is the primary variable we adjust to control depth of tone. The SS26 palette — which runs from near-natural ecru through several grades of warm grey into near-black — was achieved through bath duration alone, without reformulating the dye concentration.

No Two Identical

Hand dyeing at the production level we operate at means each piece is an individual result. Two garments dyed in the same bath on the same day will read as a matched set but will not be identical. The fiber takes what it takes. We document every bath and every outcome, but we do not attempt to eliminate that variation. It is what the process produces, and what it produces is the product.