Another trip that I was unfortunately unable to make, due to pandemic was the ground breaking exhibition dedicated to kimonos, presented at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum. The idea behind it was not only to present the beauty of kimonos but also to show links and mutual influences between East and West in terms of fashion and art, to explain this iconic garment, its origins, function and symbolism. I was terribly disappointed when it turned out that I could not go. But small miracles sometimes happen. Early in the New Year I was on museum’s website and found out about V&A Academy. https://www.vam.ac.uk/info/learn#va-academy I was really impressed with the many activities they offer online including art courses, workshops and talks. The topics cover a great variety of fields: from architecture, painting or fashion to jewelry, pottery or sewing. You can learn about ancient Greece, Italian Renaissance or art of Iran. And one of the online events was – yes- my sadly missed “Kimono – Kyoto to Catwalk” exhibition featured in one of V&A’s Friday Forums.
How do the Friday Forum work? Well, you need to sign up and pay for to take part. I paid GBP 37 but there is a discount for students. It starts at 10.00 and ends by about 16.30 GMT. If you don’t have any time off on Friday or you live in a different time zone you can still access recordings of all the talks and presentations for the next seven days. However you unfortunately miss out on the opportunity to ask questions which only the live event can offer. Your group meets on Teams and a few days prior to the event V&A sends you an email explaining how to log in, with links that enable you to familiarise yourself with any technical issues.
I am delighted to say that the kimono Friday Forum I joined was worth every penny I spent on it and every minute I was online listening to it. It opened with an introduction by Anna Jackson, the curator of “Kimono: Kyoto to Catwalk” exhibition.
The first speaker was Akiko Fukai, Director and Curator Emeritus from Kyoto Costume Institute, the first institution in Japan devoted to Western costume research and contemporary Japanese design. In her engaging talk she explained how “Japonism” became a very fashionable trend in the West during the second half of 19th century. When Japan finally opened its borders for trade and diplomatic relations in 1867, after over 250 years of seclusion, the West was fascinated by everything coming from this mysterious, faraway country. Japan on the other hand was modernizing at great pace, importing technologies, ideas and lifestyles. The Universal Exhibition in London (1862) and in Paris (1867) greatly contributed to popularization of “Japonism”.The Arts&Crafts Movement rapidly incorporated typically Japanese motifs in decorative arts such as textiles, furniture or prints and Dress Reform Movement announced the kimono a liberating clothing solution with no need for corsets as it “hangs” on shoulders rather than on waist.
There are many 19th century portraits featuring Japanese style outfits by Reonir, Tissot, Whistler, Monet, F.W.Burton and many others. Also the fashion designers, Paul Poiret, Mariano Fortuny, YSL, Dior Madeleine Vionnet, Chanel, Balenciaga, Galliano, Alexander McQueen all used the kimono inspiration in their work. Its straight lines and simple cut providing comfort and elegance remain the main principle of modern fashion. Simultaneously many Japanese designers became very successful in the West – for example recently deceased Kenzo Takada, Issey Miyake, Yamamoto or Rei Kawakubo.
What I didn’t know before my Friday Forum was that kimonos first appeared in Europe as early as the second half of 17th century. That part of the story was told by Myranda van den Hoogen, an independent scholar from the Netherlands. The Dutch and their East India Company were the only people allowed to trade with Japan after The Portuguese got kicked out in 1649 for being too keen to Christianise Japan which shoguns were not interested in. That is why the Netherlands was the first European country where kimonos appeared as precious gifts – offered by shoguns to top East India Company employees. One of these rare samples is worn by Anna Elizabeth van Reede in her portrait (1678) attributed to Dutch artist Gerard Hoet. The portrait still hangs in Slot Zuylen, not far from Utrecht. Normally it is open to the public so you can visit and see how different these first imported kimonos were from the Japanese originals. Myranda van den Hoogen gave a fascinating talk about, highlighting from where they originated. She also shed some light on the family history of the lady portrayed in the painting and how the painting made its way to the castle.
Akiko Savas, a scholar who specializes in Japanese Fashion explained the mechanism behind late 19th century “kimono craze” in the West. She described why and how kimonos exported to the West were different in cut, patterns and colours from those used in Japan, that they had sizes and central back seam which Japanese kimonos had not, for example. Rapidly modernizing Japan quickly spotted a trading opportunity and kimono export became a profitable business with labels such as “S.Nishimura KYOTO JAPAN” or “S.Iida Takashimaya” being the leaders. By about 1910-14 their products were offered by Harrods in London or Gallerie La Fayette in Paris. It was a time of intense mutual interactions between the two cultures and paradoxically, wearing kimono was as liberating and new for Western women as wearing Western clothes was for women in Japan.
“Stranger in Shogun’s City” is a book published last year. It is a reconstruction of the life story of a Japanese woman, Tsuneno who lived in the early 19th century, based on surviving letters, documents and other written sources. I was fascinated to listen to the author, Amy Stanley, an associate professor of history at Northwestern University, Illinois who explained how her book came into being, what its inspiration was and what her biggest challenge was in completing it. I was so inspired I had the book the next day. I have since read it and it gave me insight into how Japanese society worked before the end of Edo period in 1868. It also opened my eyes to the fact that clothes (ie. kimonos) were a commodity, an equivalent of monetary value and knowledge of sewing was a very valuable life skill.
Next speaker was Gennifer Weisenfel from Duke University, Durham in North Carolina. Her presentation revealed an aspect of Japanese modern art history I was completely unaware of. She gave a talk about Saito Kazo, an artist and a designer whom I have never heard of before but whose achievements I found quite incredible. The Universal Exhibition in Paris in 1925 is commonly referred to as the birth moment of Art Deco. Saito Kazo, a frequent visitor to Europe, visited Parisian exhibition and returned home with head full if new ideas. His vision was to create a total art concept that would include all fields of everyday life – clothing, interiors, architecture, prints, practical objects – that would unite traditional Japanese motifs with new Art Deco simple, rhythmical forms. He wanted new design to be available to everyone and to make it an active tool in creating a new reality. He was also very keen to introduce “lessons of good taste” as part of regular school curriculum to promote new aesthetics and new lifestyle. Imagine that in today’s education system! Following this talk, I was trying to find out more about him but there is hardly anything available online and if I haven’t missed anything he had only one retrospective exhibition back in 2016, together with other Japanese Art Deco artists. Which makes me feel even more fortunate to have had a chance to learnt about him.
Finally Josephine Rout, Project Curator of “Kimono: Kyoto to Catwalk” presented a very informative and eye opening talk about kimono in Japanese street fashion today. I remember from a year that I spent living in Japan around 1990 that high quality, beautiful kimonos were worn by women on occasions such as weddings or other formal gatherings. Simple, cotton ones were worn by older ladies in the countryside. Things have changed radically since then. The kimono is back in fashion amongst young people of both sexes and since it is a very adaptable garment you can come across many interesting reinventions and nostalgic reinterpretations in the streets of Tokyo, Osaka or Kyoto. The clear conclusion is that the kimono is not a folk costume. It continues to be rediscovered and updated to confront ever changing society – it is alive!
And last but not least, the “desert” I was a delightful conversation betweenTokyo Dandy, www.tokyodandy.com , with Yamaguchi Genbei who is 10th generation obi maker based in Kyoto. Although the word “maker” should certainly be replaced with “artist”. It was fascinating to learn about his thoughts on fashion and culture, views on how history shapes them both, how nature contributes to human creations and why making obi is a spiritual experience for him.
I still regret I could not go to London in person to see over 315 beautiful kimonos old and new, conventional and bizarre, but kimono Friday Forum delivered by V&A Academy was a superb alternative. I learnt so much more than I would have done had I only visit the exhibition and read museum labels. The opportunity to listen to such erudite and engaging people, true experts in their fields and obtain first hand information was invaluable. I sincerely hope that even when covid restrictions are finally lifted V&A will continue offering online courses and workshops. I know that direct visual contact with art pieces cannot be easily substituted, I know, but participating in an online event is so much more manageable both financially and logistically. The contents of all the talks resonated in my mind for many days afterwards setting off so many new questions and conclusions. For me it was a truly great online experience and I look forward to participating in many more through the V&A website.