• Fashion connoisseurs know that there’s more to luxury fashion than the designers’ names and patterns: the materials themselves are a crucial component to any fabric item, and the creators of these rarely get the same fame and exposure as the designers who use their work. This tour of Ogura Fabrics is a rare chance to see the work that goes into helping designers’ ideas truly shine, through the production of premium fabrics from individual threads.
• In addition to the tour, fashion lovers are invited into the Ogura Fabrics archives, to see a collection of fabrics that has only grown since the company’s founding in 1895. Each item has its own fascinating story to hear about. After exploring the archives, Gemba Project guests get the chance to purchase fabric by the meter, direct from the Ogura Fabrics distribution inventory warehouse — an opportunity rarely offered to the general public.

The visit begins with a tour of the Ogura Fabrics factory: a premium textile maker founded in 1895. Guests learn about how silk jacquard and other fabrics are woven from silk threads — with as many as 14,200 threads running in parallel along the length of the fabric — through the incredible skill that goes into producing such delicate work. The factory tour is followed by a visit to the Ogura Fabrics archive. Here, guests can explore a collection of fabrics dating back to the company’s founding, and learn more about the stories associated with each item.