Ring Jacket's exclusive fabric series: Calm Twist, Balloon
Text/Mei Chiu
Source: Ring Jacket
Ring Jacket is a brand that is difficult to define. Although it originated in Japan, it has transformed into a Neapolitan style in recent years. Although its main sales are ready-to-wear series, in addition to using materials from world-renowned manufacturers such as Loro Piana and Zegna, it also insists on developing its own fabrics. Moreover, whether it is fabrics or suits, whether it is ready-to-wear or MTM (Made to Measure), the entire process is completed in Japan. It can be said to be the best example of Western style and soul!
We have previously taken you to visit Ring Jacket's factory in Osaka. In this article, we will take a closer look at the brand's two most important fabric series: Calm Twist and Balloon.
[Extended reading] "His philosophy of suits" Japan: Interview with Mr. Sasamoto, Sales Manager of Ring Jacket
Calm Twist Fabric Collection
The origin of this series is the hope to launch a series of "ultimate business suit fabrics" that will allow the wearer to feel comfortable and calm even after putting on a suit, so it is named "Calm Twist".
Before this fabric was introduced, if you wanted to find stretchy suit fabrics, most of the fabrics on the market were blended fabrics containing spandex [1]. Although this blended fabric does provide excellent mobility, it is too stretchy and will look quite unnatural when made into a suit. Therefore, how to make 100% wool yarn more stretchy and look natural is a big problem.
The team finally chose to use a low-speed loom to weave as slowly as possible. Most modern textile industries use high-speed looms to meet the needs of fast and large-scale fabric production, so it is now difficult to find information about low-speed looms.
However, using a low-speed loom allows air to be injected into the process, and there are more gaps between the weaves, so the fabric is quite soft. The team also specially interweaves fine yarn and coarse yarn to give the surface a unique concave and convex feel, allowing the finished fabric to have both the stability of British fabrics and the natural stretchability. 
Balloon Fabric Series
Like Calm Twist, the Balloon fabric series, also named “Balloon”, had a mission to accomplish when it was first developed: to create suits that were as light and relaxed as a balloon.
As time goes by, knitted suit jackets that are easy to wear and move around are becoming more and more popular around the world. However, knitted materials often have the weakness of elastic fatigue or shrinkage. Therefore, Ring Jacket hopes to solve this problem through wool knitting and adhere to the principle of using natural fibers to provide a stable, elastic and lightweight wearing experience.
If you are a business person who travels frequently or on business trips, you will be well suited to wearing a suit from the Balloon fabric series. This is because it is made from special high-twist wool yarn [2] and is light, breathable and wrinkle-resistant. It is the best choice for busy business travelers who don’t have time to take care of too many things! 
In 2025, Ring Jacket's Balloon fabric series launched new fabric types, namely RT055S06F and RC025S02B 4PLY BALLOON.
Highlighting the details: RT055S06F
From a distance, it looks plain, but in fact, it uses a variety of colors of Z-twisted [3] South American wool yarn [4], which gives the finished product a varied and deep sense of mystery. It also has a smooth and cool touch, and has excellent breathability and heat dissipation! It is a wool fabric suitable for both spring and summer. 
Everyday suit fabric for all seasons: RC025S02B 4PLY BALLOON
Generally speaking, in order to create a sense of uprightness, fabrics made from four-ply yarn [5] are upright and durable, but also relatively heavy. In order to achieve both durability and lightness, this fabric, although also made from four-ply yarn (4 ply), uses finer yarn and is woven in a flat weave. As a result, it is breathable, soft, light, and upright, which is a unique feature of Balloon fabric made in Japan. 
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[1] Also known as Elastane. It is commonly called OP in Taiwan and PU in Japan. This fiber has excellent elasticity. Ordinary elastic bands can be stretched to 4 times their original length, but PU can stretch up to 7 times, so it is a fiber commonly used in sportswear.
[2] In order to strengthen the toughness of the yarn, it must be twisted. Twist means "twisting the yarn". Usually, the number of times the yarn is twisted per inch or meter is used to define the yarn as light twist, medium twist, strong twist, or high twist. If a meter of yarn has more than 1,000 twists, it is considered a strong twist. High twist means more than 3,000 twists.
[3] The twisting process can be divided into counterclockwise S twist and clockwise Z twist according to the twisting direction. Z twist is usually used in knitted fabrics.
[4] It has the softness of Australian Merino wool, and the curl (similar to the uprightness of British wool). It is like a fusion of the advantages of Australian and British wool, with a slight sheen similar to mohair.
[5] When twisting yarn, in addition to using single-strand yarn, it is more common to "twist" multiple yarns together, which further strengthens the toughness of the yarn and fabric. "Ply" is called "ply" in English. The most common number of plies on the market is 2 to 4. The writing on the cloth is 2 ply, 3 ply, 4 ply. The smaller the number, the softer and lighter the fabric.