Dear customers，
I am Arcquami. Please allow me a few minutes to tell you why I created Arcquami and what it means to me.
I came from a small town where we wore silk garments from Zhoucun.
I was raised by my grandparents. I remember my grandmother holding me in her arms, dressed in an off-white mulberry silk outfit adorned with bamboo leaf patterns. As a child, I thought it was simply off-white, but I vaguely noticed a hint of green shimmering through. That garment was so light, so cool in the summer. The fabric brushed against my face—soft, delicate, carrying the faint scent of my grandmother’s sandalwood perfume. Only now do I realize that the unique blend of white and green hues, along with the airy texture, was the result of [specific weaving technique].
My grandmother’s sister loved wearing Xiangyun silk. One side was black, the other deep brown, imprinted with swirling cloud patterns. It was the first time fabric made a strong visual impression on me. As a child, I didn’t like it—I couldn’t understand its slightly stiff texture and boring colors. But later, I learned that different weaving techniques create varying degrees of softness in Xiangyun silk, and with our traditional water-surface dyeing techniques, the fabric can take on way more colors beyond brown.
To me, silk is my earliest memory of the world. It is the thread connecting me to my childhood. I have been away from my hometown for many years, working and living in other cities, becoming a completely different person shaped by the demands of life. I never felt a strong attachment to my hometown, nor did I often think about my childhood—until one day, I returned home and picked up a white mulberry silk scarf. Its texture and weight instantly pulled me back to my grandmother’s wardrobe, to my hometown, to that summer filled with green shade and the sound of cicadas.
I deeply wish for more people to see this kind of silk, so that it can become a vessel for new memories. Decades from now, these fabrics will turn vintage. Their original owners will pick them up and relive forgotten moments. Their new owners may not know what memories they carry, but they will create new ones of their own.
Now that I’m grown, I’ve spent time living in New York—one of the world’s most fashionable cities. Here, I’ve been exposed to a rich diversity of cultures and styles. I love minimalism, but I also adore maximalism. I appreciate traditional garments from different cultures, from Japan to Ethiopia. And I love the fusion of cultural elements—that’s the most exciting part. I might wear Turkish şalvar with a Kazakh borik, accented with Chinese Xiangyun silk.
Many Arcquami fabrics are over 1.5 meters long, giving you the freedom to wear them however you like. These fabrics are not just for scarves or clothing—the possibilities for silk are endless. It can be an everyday scarf, a pashmina, a skirt, or a strapless top. And even with just a top, there are countless ways to style it.
How cool is that? This is such a beautiful and timeless fabric! We can express its beauty with our creativity or let different cultures collide on our bodies. Oh! Or we can simply wear it as a daily scarf—because even in its simplest form, it is breathtaking.
Sincerely，
Arcquami
