An unusual art object has gone viral online: an iconic Levi’s Type III jacket that looks real enough at first glance, but upon closer inspection, proves to be a structure painstakingly assembled from thousands of threads rather than a conventional piece of clothing. This visual illusion stems from the work’s precision and meticulous attention to detail. Rather than using fabric, the piece is composed entirely of interwoven threads that maintain their form through a complex system of stitching, entangling, and embroidery. Through these techniques, the artist has recreated the shape, color, and original topstitching, as well as the garment's label and buttons. The work is the creation of 23-year-old Japanese artist Wakumi Kanno, known on social media as @wakumiiii.
Kanno is a student in the Intermedia Art department at the Tokyo University of the Arts. In April 2026, the biscuit gallery hosted his first solo exhibition, titled "Trace" ("Kihai"), which explored the themes of traces and memories hidden within everyday objects.
Kanno has always been drawn to the tactility of slow, manual processes and the opportunity to create something material and lasting. "I am recreating memories that were never recorded," the artist says. He bridges the gap between slow, almost meditative handwork and fast-paced consumer culture to create objects that are either ghosts of discarded disposables or their archetypal prototypes, where each thread is a vibration of the creator's thought interwoven with the desires and expectations of the owner. In a world where items are produced, bought, and thrown away with increasing speed, the creator suggests we stop and look at everyday things differently. In his work, he often turns to what is usually considered trash—packaging, wrappers, and plastic bottles—and elevates them, transforming them into complex, fragile, and labor-intensive structures made of thread.
The choice of the Levi’s Type III jacket is also symbolic. It is one of the most recognizable garments in the history of everyday fashion, a piece with a potent cultural code associated with workwear, mass consumption, and American visual mythology. By depriving the jacket of its primary material, Kanno does not destroy its image but instead lays it bare. He demonstrates how powerful a form can be in its own right—and how much our perception defines the things we find familiar. Viewers saw in the piece not only a staggering example of craftsmanship but also a unique symbol of "craft"—an art form where the process of creation is just as important as the final result. Against the backdrop of automation, digital speed, and visual overproduction, such work is perceived almost as an alternative way of living. It is in this, perhaps, that the strength of Wakumi Kanno’s project truly lies.
