Kimono Style | Evolution of the Timeless Garment on Stunning Display at V&A Dundee

The year 2020 saw the opening of the biggest kimono exhibition outside Japan at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Covering from around 1600 to the present day, it demonstrated how social and political factors influenced kimono fashion. It also revealed how countries outside Japan have influenced kimono, and how it has also affected fashion in other countries.

Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, what promised to be a block-busting show was closed after three weeks. Subsequently, the exhibition toured several cities in Europe.

Four and a half years later, it has come to its final destination: the Victoria and Albert Museum's second home, Dundee, Scotland. 

A Museum by the River

As I was involved in a consulting role in the production of this exhibition, I was eager to see it once more in a different location. I also looked forward to enjoying the fabulous selection of historical and contemporary garments on display.

At the same time, I took a guided tour of the museum itself. This provided more food for thought, as the museum was designed by the famous Japanese architect, Kengo Kuma. 

Kuma takes his inspiration from natural forms. His image for the museum was that it was to be like some sea cliffs rising up from the River Tay. Originally designed to stick right out into the river, it was found that the tidal flow was too fast and the ecological impact would be too great. Consequently, it was built on the edge of the river with pools of water around it. 

A Blend of Japanese and Scottish Design

The building is like two inverted pyramids. There is an archway, inspired by the torii gates at shrines between them. It has become a popular spot in Dundee for taking wedding and graduation photographs. 

The Japan connection does not stop there. The Glasgow School of Art, and the designs that came out of there, were strongly influenced by Japanese ukiyoe and the arts and crafts movement, especially the work of Charles Rennie Mackintosh. 

When a Mackintosh-designed teahouse was being demolished, it found a home, reconstructed, inside Kengo Kuma's building. Kuma was strongly influenced by Mackintosh. He is said to have been moved to tears when he found out that Mackintosh architecture would be constructed in his building. 

For anyone who is troubled by thoughts of "cultural appropriation," this whole story demonstrates to the world that "cultural inspiration" is the name of the game. Wonderful things happen when we are inspired by and learn from other cultures. It was a joy for me to see the kimono exhibition in a location with such unique and special connections to Japan.

Exquisite Kosode and Imported Fabrics

The Edo period kosode (short-sleeved kimono) in the collection demonstrate the exquisite quality of the embroidery and shibori (tie-dyeing) techniques used during that period. Various cotton sarasa garments made in southeast Asian countries brought into Japan by Dutch trading ships are shown. These were very highly desirable, as Japan had no cotton industry at the start of the Edo period (around 1600). 

A kimono made with silk suiting fabric from Lyon in France for the Tokugawa family is a rare piece. Conversely, in the 18th century, Japanese embroidered silk garments became popular in Europe and were used as dressing gowns. Originally they were worn mainly by men but became popular for women, too. 

Kimono were produced with adapted shapes specifically for the European market. Many of these are patterned with wisteria, iris, and butterflies, which Europeans thought of as typical Japanese designs. It became a sign of culture to have a portrait painted wearing a kimono as a robe over one's clothing.

Kimono's Role in Western Fashion

In the late 19th century, Japan exported silk around the world. Yokohama stores catered to the non-Japanese population in the area. They made garments with embroidery and extra panels specifically for that market. 

New imported chemical dyes were being used in kimono production. Mass production of cheaper silk kimono, meisen, also began at this time. The examples are vividly colored with lively patterns. They expressed a new and modern age. 

Overseas trade became increasingly important. By the 1920s, the straight lines of the Japanese kimono were having a strong influence on European and American fashions. The draped dresses and velvet jackets with straight lines and large sleeves released Western women from the constraints of Victorian corsets. These garments show the two-way influence between the West and Japan. 

Reflecting the Zeitgeist

A section of men's garments shows how they were decorated inside, rather than outside, due to social constraints put on men. It also shows how kimono interacted with social themes such as "curious designs" (omoshirogara) which show planes, records, skyscrapers, and scenes of war. Kimono fashion absorbs the feeling of the times, the zeitgeist, in each age. 

The 20th-century section is very exciting. Contemporary formal wear for the Shichi-Go-San children's ceremony, a furisode of yuzen (resist dyeing) and shibori are displayed, as well as wedding wear. A Kako Moriguchi spattered paste, black and white abstract yuzen garment is on display, as well as the tsumugi silk weaving of Fukumi Shimura.

A sarasa (chintz) kimono by Futaba En is a modern-day version of sarasa garments that were made of cotton in the past. Fujikiya, who specialize in menswear made a kimono from Yorkshire suiting, and WAZIGEN SHIZUKUYA have a men's kimono and hakama that stand proud next to Star Wars costumes inspired by kimono. 

Kimono's Influence on Global Designers

iroca's dayglo dyes stand out, as do the geometrics of Kyoto's contemporary designer Modern Antenna, whose kimono is paired with a Union Jack obi. Jotaro Saito and Rumi Rock both present works with a very contemporary and edgy feel. 

Kimono as well as garments by John Galliano, Junko Koshino, and Issey Miyake showing kimono influence are included in the exhibition. An amazing embroidered trouser suit by L'Wren Scott inspired by an Edo period kosode is a beautiful tribute to the kimono. 

Leaving the exhibition, I felt that it triumphed in demonstrating not only the exquisite quality of Japanese textile works but also the exciting interactions between kimono and multiple societies and cultures. 

It also suggests that never really changing in shape was perhaps more of an advantage than a disadvantage, as kimono appears so infinitely expressive when compared with our contemporary everyday dress. The exhibition runs until January 5, 2025.

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Author: Sheila Cliffe

Read other columns on kimono by the author.