Labels and tape

What it is

A label is the small piece of cloth sewn inside a garment that says who made it, and — on a piece from here — which piece it is. There are two kinds worth telling apart.

• Stamped tape. A length of natural cotton twill or herringbone tape, about 25 mm wide, stamped with the maker's seal in washable textile ink and sewn in. Simple, made on the bench, and the same stamp that marks the paperwork. This is the workshop's label at the moment.
• Woven labels. A label woven to a design by a specialist mill: sharper, more durable, and a batch has to be ordered. These are on the brand-asset list and have not been made yet.

A third thing that looks like a label is not one: the Workshop Record — the card or label that carries a piece's project number, prototype number and the rest. That is documentation, not branding, and has its own page: The Workshop Record.

Why tape first

Because it can be made in the quantity a workshop actually needs, which is small, and because the seal on the tape is the same seal on the stamp, the embosser and the paperwork. One mark, applied by hand, is more honest than a woven label ordered by the thousand for a run of six. When there are enough pieces to justify a woven batch, that will change, and this page will say so.

Where they go

Inside the neck of a jacket, inside the waistband of a jean, inside the mouth of a bag. Care information is not printed on the tape; the care pages on this shelf are the care label, and a piece's project page points to them.

How they wear

Stamped ink softens with washing and settles into the tape. It should stay readable for the life of the garment; if a label ever fades out, the Workshop Record — and the project number on it — is the permanent identity of the piece.