A fusion of traditional Japanese couture and tyre tread patterns is something that the fashion world may not have predicted. For Toyo however, it makes perfect sense.
Driven to perform, Toyo’s distinctive tread patterns are the result of form following function. An eye for tread aesthetics has led to Toyo creating tyre tread designs that are as visually striking when static as they are when blazing around circuits, crawling through rocks or zipping through city streets.
Toyo Tires Japan, based in Osaka, better explains the concept:
“Tyre treads refer to the portion of the tire that makes contact with the road surface. The tread surface formed by carved grooves are three-dimensional in shape, and along with optimization of the rubber materials used, treads provide the tire its functionality in the form of driving force and braking force, drainage in wet weather, and noise reduction and driving comfort.
“The patterns formed through the carving of grooves are referred to as tread designs or tread patterns. These provide tires with their originality in terms of appearance. Such designs, the ’face of the tire’ so to speak, are realized through a sophisticated level of technical prowess that ensures the tire’s functionality.”
With this in mind, Toyo has crafted traditional kimono-style Japanese summer dresses, called yukata, that incorporate Toyo Tires’ unique tread designs.
“In order to give customers a sense of the rich expression of our tires, which are renowned for their original designs, we had our tread designs tailored into the patterns for yukata.
“By transposing the originality of tires – normally thought of as a simple round, black object – into the feminine world of color dimensions apart, we have created another unique touch-point distinctive of Toyo Tires.”
The patterns used for the cloth display the tread patterns from the Nanoenergy 0, Open Country M/T and the Proxes R1R.
The traditional Japanese dyeing technique of Edo Yukata was used to dye the three original cloths into the kimono designs.
“At our tire development sites, expert designers draft basic designs that are optimized using computer simulation. In our tread designs, which fuse high functionality and differentiating design, prototypes are painstakingly carved out at the hands of skilled technicians, and only those designs that clear numerous trials are adopted for use.
“By combining the aesthetic quality of our tread designs, which supports the technical strength of our company’s tire development, with the Edo Yukata dying techniques of traditional craftsmen, we achieved original content that can be utilized not just in Japan but globally as well.”
Toyo plans to use the unique cloth and yukata at upcoming events, communicating in a way that shines a spotlight on Toyo’s unique presence in the market.
