Kimono: Kyoto to Catwalk
Fabulous exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum examining the history of the kimono and how it still influences fashion today. I admit I thought this show might take me about an hour but I staggered out after well over 2 hours having taken so many photos and learnt so much. The show started with the origins of the kimono in Japan but pointed that it has not been the unchanging garment we imagine and looked at the subtle changes over the centuries. The idea of the garment was that the body wasn’t important but that it provided a large flat surface. There were some wonderful examples of Japanese kimono’s which were displayed beautifully to show off the amazing fabrics and embroidery. I also loved the prints showing kimono shops which showed you the marketing and economics of them. The middle section of the show looked at the kimono’s influence in the west starting with the arrival of the Dutch East India Company in Japan. As I’ve recently done a course in the ...