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Kimono: Kyoto to Catwalk
Beautifully illustrated, Anna Jackson’s Kimono includes more than 200 kimono from collections at the V&A and around the world, as well as examples of the ways in which they have been represented in paintings, prints, and photographs, and interpreted in popular culture and fashion, from Björk to David Bowie, John Galliano to Issey Miyake.
The kimono—worn by women, men, and children—is the ultimate signifier of revered within the country as the embodiment of national culture and regarded internationally as an exotic fascination. Often viewed as a simple, unchanging garment, the kimono has been equated with” tradition” and seen as something static and timeless.
This book, published to accompany a major exhibition at the V&A, London, presents the kimono as dynamic and fashionable and explores its significance in historical and contemporary contexts, both in Japan and in the West.
“The kimono . . . cannot simply belong to Japan, or it will disappear. This is not a ceremonial garment. It’s fashion; it always has been. And fashion is for everybody.” — Vogue , Jataro Saito
The kimono—worn by women, men, and children—is the ultimate signifier of revered within the country as the embodiment of national culture and regarded internationally as an exotic fascination. Often viewed as a simple, unchanging garment, the kimono has been equated with” tradition” and seen as something static and timeless.
This book, published to accompany a major exhibition at the V&A, London, presents the kimono as dynamic and fashionable and explores its significance in historical and contemporary contexts, both in Japan and in the West.
“The kimono . . . cannot simply belong to Japan, or it will disappear. This is not a ceremonial garment. It’s fashion; it always has been. And fashion is for everybody.” — Vogue , Jataro Saito
336 pages, Hardcover
Published April 14, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
September 14, 2020
So good that I'm breaking a rubric about normally not giving five stars to competent non-fiction that didn't make me cry ... why? Because:
1. Gorgeous. Beautiful Color. Huge (which is important, because it means you can really see the outfit, with your eyes at normal reading distance the kimonos fill up the visual space they would if their wearer were standing about 8 feet away, rather than off in the distance).
2. It covered a lot of ground--I was worried it would just about the Kimono's influence on modern fashion, when I really wanted a historical account, and it did both--it did everything--with a variety of authors each, chronologically, taking on a chapter that matched their area of specialization.
3. Despite having all these authors, the tone stayed the same, showing either some very well-behaved academics, or a particularly effective author. And it was a good tone, easy to read, but accurate and academic when necessary. I followed, I learned, and (most importantly) I remembered--it wasn't in one ear out the other.
4. Gorgeous, beautiful, huge. I know i've mentioned that, but I'm book-ending with it, because really, it's just such a glorious thing to behold--it's like the publishers said "how can a book resemble a kimono, other than by being somewhat rectilinear," and then they came up with this.
My only quibble (I have one!) is so minor it's almost embarrassing to write, but I wish somehow everyone talked about the kimono on the page, rather than a kimono a page or two (or several chapters) before or after. I know, I know, that's easy to do in a non-academic photo book, which I didn't want--but I feel like I'm cheating by rifling through pages ahead to get a look at a picture in a later chapter to understand what they're talking about now. That's my quirk. Also, once or twice an author will refer to a page number rather than an image number, and at first I was thrown. That's it for quibbles. I mean, that's nothing for a book this size, from so many contributors. I should have masses of quibbles. I don't. So, 5 stars. This book's pretty much perfect.
(Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s). I feel a lot of readers automatically render any book they enjoy 5, but I grade on a curve!
1. Gorgeous. Beautiful Color. Huge (which is important, because it means you can really see the outfit, with your eyes at normal reading distance the kimonos fill up the visual space they would if their wearer were standing about 8 feet away, rather than off in the distance).
2. It covered a lot of ground--I was worried it would just about the Kimono's influence on modern fashion, when I really wanted a historical account, and it did both--it did everything--with a variety of authors each, chronologically, taking on a chapter that matched their area of specialization.
3. Despite having all these authors, the tone stayed the same, showing either some very well-behaved academics, or a particularly effective author. And it was a good tone, easy to read, but accurate and academic when necessary. I followed, I learned, and (most importantly) I remembered--it wasn't in one ear out the other.
4. Gorgeous, beautiful, huge. I know i've mentioned that, but I'm book-ending with it, because really, it's just such a glorious thing to behold--it's like the publishers said "how can a book resemble a kimono, other than by being somewhat rectilinear," and then they came up with this.
My only quibble (I have one!) is so minor it's almost embarrassing to write, but I wish somehow everyone talked about the kimono on the page, rather than a kimono a page or two (or several chapters) before or after. I know, I know, that's easy to do in a non-academic photo book, which I didn't want--but I feel like I'm cheating by rifling through pages ahead to get a look at a picture in a later chapter to understand what they're talking about now. That's my quirk. Also, once or twice an author will refer to a page number rather than an image number, and at first I was thrown. That's it for quibbles. I mean, that's nothing for a book this size, from so many contributors. I should have masses of quibbles. I don't. So, 5 stars. This book's pretty much perfect.
(Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s). I feel a lot of readers automatically render any book they enjoy 5, but I grade on a curve!
July 19, 2024
“Kimono: From Kyoto to Catwalk” covers in detail a wide range of issues concerning the kimono. Read this and you’ll be both entertained and educated.
Chapters shows how this garment gained early popularity in the West. Even today kimono influence styles internationally. At times Kimono serve as inspiration. In other cases, non-Japanese fashionistas appropriate them. The book explains the difference.
In addition the book explores kimono tourism, ingenious modern updating, new traditional takes and how codification requires specialized knowledge in order to properly dress.
The pictures are stunning, the design beautiful, the text intelligent. If I didn’t own this book already, I’d buy it!
Chapters shows how this garment gained early popularity in the West. Even today kimono influence styles internationally. At times Kimono serve as inspiration. In other cases, non-Japanese fashionistas appropriate them. The book explains the difference.
In addition the book explores kimono tourism, ingenious modern updating, new traditional takes and how codification requires specialized knowledge in order to properly dress.
The pictures are stunning, the design beautiful, the text intelligent. If I didn’t own this book already, I’d buy it!
October 2, 2020
An amazing archive of color photos from the traveling exhibit with the same title.
On page 212, Jackson mentions:
The book of the Kimono, by Norio Yamanaka.
She also references Star Wars.
On page 212, Jackson mentions:
The book of the Kimono, by Norio Yamanaka.
She also references Star Wars.
December 27, 2021
A very slow read but no less moving, it’s been my ‘can’t sleep book’ for two years only because I found it so calming to learn something new about cloth making or Japanese social history each evening and to gaze at the excellent pictures of beautiful clothing, often botanical in theme.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews