Sheila Cliffe shares her insights on Sanrio, pop-culture, and yukata with reporter Arielle Busetto. (Photographer: Shaun Fernando)
Festival season is upon us in Japan. With it, people are wearing colorful yukata in local celebrations.
Sometimes referred to as summer kimono, yukata are the perfect start on a journey celebrating Japanese pop and traditional fashion.
A key player in the pop sphere in Japan and abroad is Sanrio, the company behind the immensely popular Hello Kitty. She is celebrating her 50th anniversary and has a far and wide cultural influence. Sanrio's diverse characters also include the adorable My Melody and Kuromi.
Showcasing its presence in recent fashion trends, Sanrio is bringing these three characters — Hello Kitty, My Melody, and Kuromi — to yukata. It is a serendipitous collaboration, amplifying Sanrio's influence on Japanese culture.
Enter apparel company Mimatsu and its brand Furifu, which prides itself on sharing Japanese style with the world. For the 2024 summer season, the company has collaborated with Sanrio to design yukata featuring some of its most famous characters. The collaboration came about thanks to the 50th anniversary of the creation of Hello Kitty.
Yukata With a Sanrio Twist
With Furifu's yukata, the creativity expressing Sanrio's characters shines through in the designs.
The Hello Kitty yukata is retro and trendy, while the My Melody one has a sweet, kawaii atmosphere. Finally, the garment featuring Kuromi has a slightly grungy, rocker style.
The Furifu spokesperson explains the detail and consideration that goes into each style. For example, the Hello Kitty yukata was thought out with a "retro-boom" in mind, as currently seen in fashion.
With Kuromi, meanwhile, "Since the character has many fans, we made sure to bring out the presence of Kuromi herself rather than just her motifs," explained the spokesperson.
Styling Sanrio
Yukata fabric is beautiful, but beyond the fabric, the beauty of yukata lies in the many elements that create a complete outfit. On this, Mimatsu has pulled out all the stops.
Mimatsu offers online videos demonstrating obi-tying techniques. For the Hello Kitty yukata, the included lace obi can be tied to form the shape of Hello Kitty's face. It also comes with a soft red obi featuring a pattern of the character's adorable red bow. Everything is topped off with a classy pearl obi-jime, a thin belt decorating the larger obi.
Fans of pastel colors can revel in the tastefully pink obi provided for the My Melody yukata. The Furifu stylist recommends a voluminous bow tied at the back which completes the look.
The Kuromi yukata comes with an obi sprinkled with tiny skulls among polka dots. Our stylist also suggests wearing the yukata shorter, with a long white frill skirt underneath for a sophisticated layered effect.
Furifu has created garments that can be adapted to many individual styles, explains their spokesperson, adding, "The trend is to add lace and frills, and to mix and match Western-style outfits with shoes, such as boots instead of geta or zori [traditional Japanese footwear]."
Styling Sanrio Characters With Sheila Cliffe
Consultant and kimono influencer Sheila Cliffe brings expert variation into the mix. The university professor is a yukata and kimono fashion ambassador, a student of the industry, and an expert on incorporating kimono into everyday fashion.
YouTube videos are useful for learning the basics, but Cliffe highlights some key points. "All you need to worry about is closing the left side over the right side," she explains, gently pulling over the Hello Kitty yukata. "Focus on getting a nice V-shape in the middle, and most people will not notice anything else." Picture the way you close a bathrobe, for example.
The second tip is to tie firmly a standard elastic band around the hip. Something like an elastic ribbon about 6 mm wide (0.25 inches) will do the trick, and it's available at 100-yen shops or anywhere that sells standard sewing supplies.
This ensures the right yukata length and prevents it from opening. Cliffe says it's a good rule of thumb to hike up the yukata hem to just under your ankle bone. She also recommends pulling up the front a little more compared to the back, to make it "extra stylish."
When deciding color and design combinations, she recommends being free-spirited. "Just choose something that appeals to you. For the obi, there is no need to choose the same colors — contrasting colors work well."
Accessories can also be varied and reflect your personality. For example, Cliffe pairs the Hello Kitty yukata with a black and silver obi, a red obi-jime, and handmade earrings inspired by furin, the Japanese wind chime.
"Yukata is basically streetwear. There are no rules," she explains, inviting everyone to be creative.
A No-Tie Obi?
There are some ways to arrange an obi that don't require a tie, playfully called "musubanai obi musubi" (not tied obi tie). The method Cliffe shares was first devised by kimono influencer ayaaya. It's a modern way to simplify the daunting traditional obi-tying process. Just fold the obi in half lengthwise and then wrap it twice tightly around the waist. The obi is then simply secured with an obi-jime.
Cliffe shares that it's very convenient. "This way of tying is really easy. It also has the advantage that one doesn't need to worry about squashing the bow behind when taking public transportation or driving," she explains.
For the My Melody yukata, Cliffe recommends a lace aquamarine obi, light-blue earrings, and a pink obi-jime. The obi contrasts pleasantly with the pastel colors. With this look, she also demonstrates how to tie a simple bow, which in Japanese is called karuta musubi.
Next, for the Kuromi yukata, Cliffe recommends a grungy style by pairing it with a black and silver soft obi, an obi-jime with a snakeskin pattern, and black circular rubber earrings. This instantly levels up the rocker look.
It was impressive to see how each Sanrio character could inspire traditional kimono fashion to be so versatile and modern. Cliffe encourages everyone to experiment with styling their yukata, because "they are a perfect way to express yourself."
Expanding Yukata's Appeal with Sanrio
"Generations change, and interests change," explains Cliffe. "People don't necessarily feel the connection to flowers like they used to, but they might feel more of a connection to music, or films, or characters," reflects Cliffe. She continues: "These things are always going to be changing and reflected in yukata, and that's really wonderful.
New trends in kimono also mean new ways of reaching fans. In fact, Furifu's spokesperson points out that demand for the Sanrio yukata has been strong across the board, from Japanese and foreigners alike.
The spokesperson also said the reception to the yukata has been positive.
"We received many compliments from the characters' fans. Also people who are not fans have called the yukata kawaii and said they'd love to wear them, even if they'd never bought character-themed clothes before," shared the Furifu PR. "That made us happy because it’s exactly what we wanted to achieve.'"
Cliffe also reflects on how Sanrio is impacting kimono fashion by appealing to a wider audience and increasing yukata's popularity. "I imagine that particularly people from overseas might see Hello Kitty [patterns] on a yukata [...] and find it amazing. Yukata is a reflection of what we care about in our daily lives and so it's always new, it's always changing. It's alive. "
Whatever your style, we hope readers will be inspired to explore Japanese culture and fashion. Happy festival season from Sheila Cliffe and JAPAN Forward!
(The yukata introduced in this article are available for purchase at Furifu's Shinjuku store in Tokyo.)
This article is published in cooperation with Sanrio Company Ltd. All Sanrio characters and character images: ©️ 2024 SANRIO CO., LTD. TOKYO, JAPAN
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Author: Arielle Busetto
