Folk is culture, folk is art, and folk is the world
In Wenjüe Lu, the past is the present. Expiration dates are for perishable goods, we believe works of art with the purest intention go beyond the now now.
We see each of our garments as the beginning of eternal companionship for the body. The moment of purchase is a moment of initiation, not the end of a transaction. The initiation of a two-way conversation between you and us, as one.
This belief is actualized through our Lifelong Mending Initiative. Every damaged Wenjüe Lu piece can be sent back to the studio at any time to be visibly mended after a review and approval process.
For us, the idea of mending transcends mere repair; it becomes an act of morphing. Your Wenjüe Lu piece can evolve into a lifelong entity, an inherent mindset shift where clothing is seen as a continuum of living memories rather than disposable products.
A radical approach for being anti-trend, anti-fashion, anti-commodity, one essentially driven by the folk spirit.
This approach is rooted in our Taoist worldview as a studio, namely the concept of Unity of Nature and Humanity (天人合一), in alignment with the Japanese aesthetic philosophy of Wabi-sabi (侘び寂び), embodied within the folk art concept of Boro (ぼろ).
Boro is a result of Sashiko (刺し子), a way of repairing, mending, reinforcing, and decorating dating back to the Edo period. These practices convey a spirit ancient but not stale, slowing down one’s mind while mending one’s sense of life. Evolving from a frugal necessity to additional decorations serving aesthetic purposes rather than functional ones, we invite you to take a step back and re-evaluate their essences.
In a time of abundance, hyper-commercialization, and over-production, we value these folklorish mediums for their capability to disrupt the beauty ideals, the appropriate attire, or the focus that we often see between the industry and wealth; A response to fast fashion and the throwaway culture.
Under the capitalistic society today that only creates more waste and harm, not only to the planet but also to ourselves, negatively impacting our sense of interconnection with nature itself and relationship with objects in general. Imagine this "eternal clothing" as creating your own Boro pieces from scratch, expanding on the significance of an entirely different object-relation with what you wear, with each stitch and patch serving as fragments of lived life.
We encourage you to buy less, buy what you love, and every Wenjüe Lu piece will last you a lifetime and stay uniquely yours the more you use it. Create memories with care, with every use, every wear.
With our Lifelong Mending Initiative, we embrace fully the transcendental quality of visible mending. Each mend adds more characters unique to you, turning garments into wearable artifacts, an authentic embodiment of our concept of “slowness”.
Slowness is not sluggishness, instead, slowness is the nurturing of a meaningful relationship with time. In a world that relentlessly accelerates, one should only create with purpose. Seek beauty in an object's impermanence and imperfection, rooted in its innate naturalness.
The folk spirit does not discriminate between regions and ethnicity, rather, it is a blend of life concepts and cultures. Open dialogue and communication residing outside of the limitation of confined spaces. Craftsmanship seen and appreciated; Craftsmen hidden in little-known villages and concrete jungles; Spirit passed down from generation to generation; Foundation for cultural continuity; A rare exhibit of humanity in its natural state, in a modern society.
Folk is you, folk is I, and folk is us.
- M
Studio Wenjüe Lu