Kimono Refashioned

Featuring a diverse range of fashions, this exhibition showcases more than 40 extraordinary garments created by more than 30 Japanese, European and American designers from the world-renowned collections of the Kyoto Costume Institute and the Newark Museum. 

Follow the fascinating storyline of Japanese inspiration, influence and active engagement with global fashion from the 1870s to present day. The exhibition will highlight not only spectacular couture gowns, innovative men’s wear, shoes with a sense of humor and ready-to-wear that tells a story, but also significant paintings, prints and textiles that reflect and resonate with these style trends.

The fashion faithful will delight in designer works along with paintings by William Merritt Chase and Jacques-Joseph James Tissot and prints by Katsushika Hokusai, Suzuki Harunobu, Kikukawa Eizan, and Katsukawa Shuncho. Viewing these superb garments and fabrics with paintings and prints reveals how cutting edge styles also are a constant rediscovery—transforming history and incorporating new technological breakthroughs into the latest vogue.

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website. 

Image: Yohji Yamamoto / Dress / Spring/Summer 1995 / Collection of the Kyoto Costume Institute / Photo by Takashi Hatakeyama

Whether you go or not, the exhibition catalog, Kimono Refashioned: Japan's Impact on International Fashion, explores the impact of the kimono on the fashion world, charting how these striking and elegant unisex garments came to transcend their traditional Japanese design origins, and reflects upon the wide-range of motifs used to decorate kimonos, the form and silhouette of the Japanese traditional dress, and how its basic two-dimensional structure and linear cut have been refashioned into a wide array of garments. East to West, kimonos and kimono-influenced designs are everywhere, from high-end couturiers such as Yohji Yamamoto and Gucci to Main Street fashion chains such as Uniqlo and H&M. In Kimono Refashioned, contributors. This book is a must-have for fashionistas and Asian art aficionados alike.

Select Kimono Refashioned: Japan's Impact on International Fashion  to learn more, or to place this book in your Amazon shopping cart. Your Amazon purchase through this link generates a small commission that will help to fund the ArtGeek.art search engine.