Coloreel and Ricoh collaborate with Hitomi Morita on unique design project

Japanese Illustrator Hitomi Morita was challenged to create a collection of t-shirt designs that showcased the strengths of today's leading embellishment technology with Coloreel’s instant thread coloring technology and Ricoh’s Ri-2000 DTG printer system.

Hitomi Morita designs intricate illustrative motifs for fashion and perfume brands. Her work is inspired by the experience of nature and the functional sbeauty of plants and animals.

When she was introduced to Coloreel he was impressed by the creative possibilities enabled by the technology.

"I thought that the gradients and color possibilities of Coloreel's embroidery and Ricoh’s technology of printing blotting and blurring on fabrics would be a good match. I wanted to find harmony in both, so they could complement each other and overall enhance the design."

The result?

‘It was as if a page from a sketchbook was directly expressed on the T-shirt’.

As an advocate for the great outdoors, sustainability - in particular within the textile industry - is important to Hitomi.

"The designs with creatures living in the sea, on land and in the sky illustrate my wish for a future where nature and technology can exist together in harmony."

Hitomi sees Coloreel as one of those innovative technologies that can help achieve this.

“With traditional machine embroidery there is always a surplus of colored threads that go to waste. With Coloreel you only create what you need. This is very important for embroidery manufacturers — and for designers and illustrators who want to contribute to a more sustainable industry.”