We use the Japanese kanji for indigo 'ai' for the two eyes of our logo.

Ai Aii is based on Awaji island, near Tokushima, where people have been dyeing since the 10th century. We take inspiration from dye artists throughout history and around the world, from bold, geometric designs to accidental, intricate textures. Our backgrounds are in Illustration, painting, weaving, graphic design and photography. We bring these into our creative process to bring fresh eyes and a new angle to the traditional methods of our locality. We have mixed-up influences from pop culture and fine art to bring you fun and playful, wearable fashion.

We also love how chance plays a part in each dyed piece. Depending on the weight and type of fabric, how tight the string was pulled, the concentration of dye in the vat, the length of time left soaking and oxygenating; all these and more will bring a slightly different effects and makes each piece totally unique.

For the items in this shop we use a quality synthetic indigo, a chemical copy of the compound found in indigo plants. For all-natural indigo dyeing please ask us for further information.