Sit Back, Relax, and Bathe in Tekla x AURALEE (EXCLUSIVE)
AURALEE and Tekla are two brands with a commitment to crafting everyday garments with unparalleled precision. However, the Japanese fashion label and Scandinavian homeware experts have also found a deeper cultural connection: an appreciation of bathing rituals.
“The ritual and escape of bathing is something very personally important to me and one of my biggest passions,” Ryota Iwai, founder and designer of AURALEE, tells Highsnobiety. “I am really happy to finally have been able to work on something like this, and couldn’t imagine a better partner to do it with.”
Connecting for the first time, Iwai quickly found common ground with Tekla by exploring the wellness practices of each other's cultures.
“Tekla has long been inspired by winter bathing and sauna culture, an everyday occurrence in Scandinavia,” explains Charlie Hedin, founder and creative director of Tekla. “This formed the basis of our conversations with AURALEE, who share an interest in bathing culture, and quickly led to a meaningful discussion of onsen.”
An onsen is a hot spring bath found in Japan, honored most pertinently in this collaboration through an onsen-sized towel with a longer canvas label to conveniently secure it around the head (a neat trick you’ll find utilized across this collaboration’s wellness-focused campaign).
The onsen-specific towel is indicative of a wider goal for this collaboration: to facilitate a gainful bathing experience. And in their drive to achieve this, both brands showcase their expertise while allowing each other to explore new territory.
Made in Japan, utilizing AURALEE's finest fabrics, are knitted accessories alongside a padded down jacket and super fine wool Robe Coat — marking Tekla’s first-ever foray into outerwear. Meanwhile, made in Portugal, are Tekla’s signature towels and sleepwear crafted from organic cotton — Auralee’s first experiments with home goods.
“We have strived to capture the rituals of onsen and its healing warmth through fabrics and materials – from soft towels for drying and a comforting sleepwear base, to ultra-warm outerwear and cashmere accessories,” says Hedin.
The result of what Hedin describes as “months of close collaboration and meaningful conversations,” the full Tekla x AURALEE selection is finally set to arrive, launching on October 30, available from the Highsnobiety Shop alongside select retailers.
Above all else, AURALEE and Tekla’s strongest assets are their taste levels. Their minimal fashion collections and high-end sleepwear have an understated allure, both being expertly made, beautifully packaged, and quietly luxurious.
“Besides both brand’s commitment to quality, craftsmanship, and comfort, I feel that the other intersections we discovered in our early conversations are what really shaped the project,” says Ryota Iwai, highlighting their shared expertise.
“Our mutual brands started around the same time, and share many of the same values in aesthetics, and approach, and to take it a step further, there is so much in common between Scandinavian and Japanese values as well, whether it be cuisine, design, and bathing culture, which ultimately lead to this project.”
For Tekla and AURALEE's debut collaboration to be an exercise in great taste, with an undeniably beautiful campaign captured at a secluded location in Japan and subtly elevated designs, is not a surprise: this is what AURALEE and Tekla do best. However, that each brand’s universe can be combined with such effortlessness is quite the revelation.
