“Taken from the Japanese words wabi, which translates to less is more, and sabi, which means attentive melancholy, wabi-sabi refers to an awareness of the transient nature of earthly things and a corresponding pleasure in the things that bear the mark of this impermanence.” (link)
Fashion by its nature is impermanence; it is the celebration of the new and the now.
But, think about it: some parts of fashion endure and take on new avatars that resonate with us.
The same goes for nature; things pass, fade, come back and give us renewed joy.
This is our work at Lotus & Michael:
Less is more—minimalist, classic style-humble color, built with quality, comfort and endurance in mind—adorned with embroidery as a touch of elegance:
The fading and rebirth of flowers, creatures and all the earth’s gifts, celebrated with our embroidery.
Clothing that is simply multifunctional, as at home at work as on the beach or out to dinner as opposed to impulsive additions with a questionable role. More and newer is not necessarily better; it may add clutter to your wardrobe and decision-making.
“Wabi sabi encourages us to create empty space in our life instead of adding more and more. In that way, instead of pursuing objectives created artificially by the consumer society, this new empty space will gradually fill up only with what is beautiful and essential, instead of with noise and pressures that cause us stress.”[i] This is the difference between Lotus & Michael and fast fashion that consumes our brains and money: Our garments will play many roles, and perform with equal beauty for years— you can donate the rest- we did.
At the same time we recognize the impermanence of life and nature, so we celebrate our gifts, do not take them for granted, and understand that it is our responsibility to sustain them.
The true beauty of Wabi Sabi is wonderfully captured in this story from India:
“A farmer who lived to the north of Jaipur would go to the closest spring to his farm every day for water. To carry the water, he rested a long wooden pole on his neck. A bucket hung from each end of the stick, which he would fill at the spring.
After a while, when he was returning home after fetching water, he realized that one of the buckets was half empty. Apparently, it had a small crack. The farmer decided to keep on using the broken bucket for years.
The bucket that always made it back home full was proud of its achievements. Every day it blamed the other bucket for the problem caused by its flaws.
‘You’re always spilling the water on the way back,’ said the perfect bucket. ‘You do half the work I do – you’re useless!’
‘I’m really sorry… I’m ashamed that the water leaks out because of this crack I have,’ the imperfect bucket apologized. Ashamed of its flaw, the bucket that always made it back half empty began to get depressed and became less and less talkative.
One day, the farmer heard the two buckets’ conversation. And he turned to the imperfect bucket saying: ‘Have you noticed that beautiful flowers have sprung up on your side of the path, but on the otherside there is nothing but earth and stones?’
The perfect bucket, lost for words, looked at the imperfect bucket enviously.
‘I planted seeds on your side of the path and every day you watered them when we returned home together,’ the farmer went on. ‘Over the last few years, I’ve been picking some of those flowers to decorate my house. Without you, I would never have been surrounded by such beauty.’”[ii]
When we at Lotus & Michael wear our clothes, we make our statement-- we celebrate the then, now and tomorrow in a way that recognizes the nature of simple beauty and the complex marriage of fashion with function.
Does that resonate with you? Join us!
[i] Nobuo Suzuki, “Wabi Sabi: The Wisdom in Imperfection” (New York: Tuttle, 2021), p.
[ii] Ibid., p. 91.