Kimono lovers at Anime North. (©Sheila Cliffe)
I recently had the privilege of being asked to be the guest J-Fashion speaker at Anime North in Toronto. Celebrating its 30th anniversary, Anime North ran from May 22–24, and is one of the biggest con events in North America and the biggest in Canada.
It is still not a corporate event, but is run by volunteers and fans. Anime and manga fans and cosplayers fly in from all over Canada to attend the convention. This gives it a kind of home-made feel and it is very inclusive of all kinds of fans, including those with disabilities and people of all ethnicities.
There was a wonderful welcoming feeling about the whole event, even though it was absolutely huge, with around 38,000 people attending over the 3 days.
Japanese Culture in Toronto
Another surprise to me was that people in Toronto know what a kimono is. The day before the convention started, I was going to museums in the city and countless people stopped me in the street to comment on how they liked my kimono.
I can compare this experience with that of wearing a kimono in Manchester in the UK in 2001, when no one even knew what a kimono was. I was made aware of the spread of Japanese culture through the internet and contemporary media, and the enormous popularity of Japanese soft culture.
Anime North was the first convention I ever attended. The only computer game I have ever played is bowling on a friend's Wii, and I have never been an anime fan, so it was a great learning experience for me.
I was simply amazed by the size of the Toronto Congress Centre, with several halls so huge that it took 20 minutes to walk through them. The vendors' hall and artists' alley were filled and overflowing with all kinds of figures, characters, key chains, dolls, games, cards and an unimaginably large selection of items relating to Japanese soft culture.
Inside were several sellers of kimono. I also saw several attendees walking around in kimono or yukata which was unexpected. Many people were selling beautiful artworks and accessories they had personally made, and I was very impressed by the creativity of not only the makers, but also the cosplayers and all their elaborate homemade costumes and accessories.
Something for Everyone
General programming consisted of numerous panel discussions. There were workshops from button-making to anime debates, videos and movies filmed, meet and greets with voice actors, matcha experiences, live gaming all night, raves, concerts, and shows. There was something for everyone all at the same time.
We started the kimono program with a fashion show on Friday evening, featuring a variety of Japanese fashion styles. Toronto Kimono Club provided the majority of street-style participants.
I was included in the show and wore a retro kimono with a fiery punk edge paired with a Rumi Rock heko obi sash. Another participant, Judy Shapiro, rode her motorized buggy while wearing a peacock furisode, displaying the sleeves through the handlebars of her vehicle.
Sharing Kimono Knowledge
Saturday arrived with a terrible storm. There was no way for the attendees to get from hall to hall except for going out in the horizontal rain, so that put a damper on some people's costume plans, and I saw a few sad victim swords, capes, and umbrellas on the edge of the road.
While costumes may have had to be modified, enthusiasm was not, and people poured into the presentations and workshops which continued all day in the Delta Hotel and North and South Conference Center buildings.
There were four sessions on kimono. I did a session about my new book publication The Kimono Closet and another one about kimono trends in Japan now. I introduced popular new materials, and design themes inspired by manga and music that are recently being seen in Japan. Also, I told them about newer belt obi, and the use of lace which is trending not only for collars, but is also worn either above or below the obi, to accessorize it.
There were two other sessions run by Toronto Kimono Club members Janet Cox, Peggy Wong, and Amber Roberts. "History of Kimono" was a very thorough overview of kimono history, and "Kimono 101" looked at recognizing different types of kimono, how to dress, and kimono underwear issues. It led to useful discussions about adapting kimono for people who are taller, wider, or who have longer arm length than standard sizes can accommodate.
The sessions were attended by both men and women, and some individuals had adapted their dressing style to suit their height or bicycle riding proclivities.
A New Generation of Kimono Enthusiasts
When I first became interested in kimono nearly 40 years ago, most kimono enthusiasts who were not Japanese were people with a passion for textiles or an interest in traditional and ethnic dress from cultures around the world.
This is not necessarily the case today. While these are still common pathways into kimono culture, a very different entry point has emerged.
Generations of people have grown up immersed in Japanese popular culture since the 1980s and 1990s, including not only anime and manga, but also tea culture, Japanese cuisine, and fashion. The 1998 Winter Olympics in Japan also helped spark interest in the country.
While participants at these kinds of conventions may not be specifically interested in textiles, they are often deeply interested in visual styles and representations, and some go on to develop a deeper understanding from those initial interests.
Their dedication to particular characters could spark curiosity about how those characters dressed and presented themselves, leading them to create similarly styled outfits as a way of identifying with them.
A particular thrill for me was meeting kimono lovers from Canada and sharing time with them discussing the culture and organizing a fashion show together. I hope the connections I made with the Toronto Kimono Club will continue, and that I can offer support from Japan. Seeing their dedication to sharing knowledge and information with others was a truly exciting experience.
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Author: Sheila Cliffe
