Nintendo’s design team researched how to make Link’s tunic look as though it had been made by the children living in the forest, rather than produced with a machine. Producer Hidemaro Fujibayashi said the team visited museums to study materials and experimented with making its own fabric from yarn.
Fujibayashi explained that a fabric that looked too perfect would not feel believable for the setting. The designers considered what materials and techniques the children might realistically use, and discussed the story behind each object as they worked on the game.
The hardware made it possible to show this level of detail, Fujibayashi said, but the team first needed to research and decide what it wanted to create.
Sources: Nintenderos.