The Affinity of Bemberg™ with Ballet バレエに見る、ベンベルグ®との親和性

I recently had the opportunity to watch a special gala concert featuring a number of renowned ballet dancers, including a danseur étoile from the Paris Opera Ballet. It was a very glamorous performance befitting the start of the new year, but as I was only invited by a friend and am not familiar with ballet, I was captivated above all by the dazzling physical beauty of the dancers. Their bodies exuded overwhelming beauty as they danced on stage, and I was intoxicated just by watching them.

After returning home, still enchanted by my first experience of ballet, I found myself binge-watching ballet-related videos online and even considering joining a ballet class for middle-aged beginners (setting aside the issue of whether I’d wear white tights and a leotard). I also recalled that a world-renowned ballet dancer had been featured in a Bemberg™ advertisement in the early 2000s. In that moment, I deeply resonated with the brand image that Bemberg™ aspires to—the universal beauty and dynamic expression that ballet so powerfully embodies.

The cupro vs. Bemberg™ Problem

“Bemberg™ is Asahi Kasei’s brand of regenerated cellulose fiber, cupro.” This is the Bemberg™ descriptor (explanation) we use in advertising, but for those who don’t know anything about Bemberg™, cellulose fiber, or cupro, it’s probably just a meaningless string of words.

キュプラ・ベンベルグ^®問題

「ベンベルグ^®は旭化成の再生セルロース繊維・キュプラのブランドです」

*Bemberg™ is Asahi Kasei’s brand of regenerated cellulose fiber, cupro.

これは私たちが広告等で使用しているベンベルグのディスクリプター（注釈）だが、ベンベルグ^®もセルロース繊維もキュプラも知らない人にとっては、おそらく意味をなさない言葉の羅列でしかないだろう。
“Regenerated cellulose fiber” = A common term used when classifying chemical fibers

“Bemberg™” = Asahi Kasei’s brand name for the general fiber cupro

“cupro” = General fiber name

Considering that Asahi Kasei is the only company in the world that currently produces cupro, cupro is synonymous with Bemberg™.

This explanation may not be sufficient, but Cupro and Bemberg™ refer to the same material. So whether you call it by the brand name or the generic fiber name, it doesn’t really matter—though they are sometimes mistakenly regarded as different things.

Furthermore, the English term for the fiber is “cupro,” but in Japanese it is called “cupra,” which may cause further confusion in the cupro vs. Bemberg™ issue.

In parallel with this issue, when promoting Bemberg™ or cupro in territories where neither of the two are well known, we are sometimes asked questions such as, “Is Bemberg™ polyester?” or “What percentage of cupro is it?” When I was asked these questions, I would scream in my head, panic, and get upset, saying, “There it is again: ‘What percentage of cupro is it…?’ Where should I start explaining this?” But next time I receive a question like this, I want to respond smoothly and smartly by saying, “cupro is the name of a fiber, just like cotton and polyester, so it’s not a mixture of anything.”

「再生セルロース繊維」＝化学繊維を分類した際の通称

「ベンベルグ^®」＝旭化成が所有する、一般繊維名キュプラのブランド名

「キュプラ」＝一般繊維名

そして、キュプラを生産しているのが現在世界で旭化成のみであることを踏まえると、キュプラ＝ベンベルグ®となる。

まだ説明が十分でないかもしれないが、このようにキュプラとベンベルグ®は同じ物を指すので、ブランド名で呼んでも一般繊維名で呼んでも構わないのだが、時に別のものだと認識されていることがある。さらに英語表記はcuproなのに日本語では「キュプラ」と呼ぶことも、キュプラ・ベンベルグ®問題に別の混乱をもたらしているような気がする。

この問題と並行して、ベンベルグ®もキュプラも十分に認知されていない場所でプロモーションを行っていると「ベンベルグ®ってポリエステル？」とかキュプラを混繊糸と誤解しているのかキュプラ100％の糸に対して「この糸の混率は？」という質問を受けることもある。ちなみにこの質問には「出たーー！」「キュプラの混率って…」「どこから説明すれば良いんだろう」と、心の中で叫び、ワタワタし、怯んでしまっていたのだが、今度この手の質問を受けたなら「キュプラは、綿やポリエステルと同様に繊維の名称なので、何かを混合したものではないのですよ」とサラリとスマートに対応していきたい。
Commonalities between ballet and Bemberg™, and gender representation

Putting the cupro vs. Bemberg™ issue aside, Bemberg™ is a fiber that has an elegant luster like silk, is soft and smooth, and often exudes a sensual look. It can be transformed into a simple and sturdy classic fabric, or a unique and avant-garde material, and is used for a variety of purposes, including clothing.

Yes, Bemberg™ has the unique ability to blend in with the dignified appearance of classical ballet, such as “Swan Lake,” which are reassuringly stereotypical, as well as with unconventional performances such as “Le Parc,” in which a man and woman in pajamas sensually intertwine, making you wonder, “What is this dance where they playfully caress each other’s bodies?”

However, while I was being enthralled by the pas de deux, a dance performed by a man and a woman, I became conscious of the difference in roles between men and women as I watched the performance in which the male dancer led and supported the female dancer. Then, whether unconsciously or semi-compulsorily, when I thought about the traditional feminine social role that I had chosen, my cheerful feelings for the new year suddenly changed and I felt a sense of distress.

The clothes we wear are inevitably a means of gender representation, but even in promoting Bemberg™, the fiber that makes up these products, we want to keep that awareness in mind and continue to engage with society sincerely.

( Asahi Kasei PR )

バレエとベンベルグ®の共通項、そしてジェンダー表象

「キュプラ・ベンベルグ®問題」はさておき、ベンベルグ®はシルクのような上品な光沢感を持ち、柔らかく滑らかで、時にセンシュアルな表情も醸し出す糸である。それは、質実剛健とした古典的な生地にも、またユニークな前衛的な生地にも姿を変え、洋服をはじめ色々な用途に用いられている。そう、ベンベルグ®は「これぞ、まさしくバレエ！」と安心出来た演目「白鳥の湖」に代表されるクラシック・バレエの凛とした姿にも、「相手の体に身を沿わして戯れるこのダンスはなんだ？」と思わせられた、パジャマ姿の男女が官能的に絡み合う「ル・パルク」のような個性的な演技にも、融合する個性を持っている。

しかし、パ・ド・ドゥと呼ばれる男女二人による踊りに見惚れる一方、男性ダンサーが女性ダンサーをリードし、受け止めるという演技を観るうちに男性と女性の役割の違いに意識が向かった。そして無意識なのか半ば強制的だったのか、現在自らが選び取っている旧来の女性的な社会的役割を思うと、新年の晴々しい気持ちから打って変わり、悶々とした気持ちになったりもした。

( Asahi Kasei PR )

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