Kimono: The Art & Evolution of Japanese Fashion
(Credit:Picture from Amazon.com, click above to go to Amazon page)
When we first started selling vintage Japanese kimonos on www.yokodana.com in 1998 we thought that the West's love for traditional kimonos and vintage Japanese fabric might be a passing fad. Boy were we wrong!Now, nearly two decades later it seems to us that the excitement and love of Japanese kimonos world-wide is far from fading, but continues to grow in leaps and bounds.
We've come to call this love affair with kimono of the West a sort of meme "Kimono Culture" among ourselves here. As we grew up with kimono, it is heartening to see this on-going fascination with kimonos internationally. To me as a Japanese kimono seem to be actually simple garments made from rectangular fabrics. But of course it is the role which kimono played as part of the evolution of Japanese culture, society and fashion which has made all the difference.
So, when we learn of books like this we want to shout it from the roof tops, especially when it is done with such quality.Just in the last few years the number of serious books about kimono and Japanese culture have grown significantly. Moreover, a search of google and the blogosphere of the world and you'll find a wide variety of uses of kimono. So, here at YokoDana. com (YokoDana Kimono) we like to highlight the better works when we become aware of them.
Kimono: The Art and Evolution of Japanese Fashion is a most impressive new book about kimono from Thames & Hudson publishers, edited by Anna Jackson. There is an equally impressive --and extensively detailed -- review of the book on hyperallergic.com, by Edward M. Gomez (Feb.13, 2016); he starts his review with this:
Kimono: The Art and Evolution of Japanese Fashion (Thames & Hudson), a new book principally written and edited by Anna Jackson, offers an informative look at just what makes the kimono such a unique and iconic creation among the world’s many ethnic or national-cultural forms of dress. Jackson, the keeper (or chief curator) of the Asian department at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, also serves as the curator of the Khalili Collection of Kimono, whose holdings reflect a 300-year span of Japanese textile-art history. Its owner and namesake is one of the most tireless collectors in the world. As Forbes has noted, he’s also a billionaire...
To read whole review go HERE...
For our serious students of kimono and Japanese textile culture, this seems to worth adding to your reference books. Also, the lengthy review of the book by Gomez linked above is also chock full of background information, also strongly recommended for our kitsuke and kimono collector fans. Enjoy!