Takayama based Japanese new online shop Kimono & Co. is giving traditional vintage kimonos a modern update, making these up-cycled beautiful pieces wearable with everyday outfit.
For many years before WWII, Kimonos were everyday wear for people in Japan. Many have spent a lifetime with one set of Kimono by amending and caring for them. Others have passed Kimonos down from generation to generation. Many of the younger generations nowadays only wear Kimonos a couple of times in their lives, because putting on traditional Kimonos require some level of training, usually with specialists.
With sustainability and eliminating waste in mind, Kimono & Co. saw the opportunity to redesign these beautiful vintage Kimonos made with valuable fabric, traditional techniques and timeless design from 1950s-1980s. The team carefully select and buy these Kimonos in historic cities and create modern and easy-to-adopt clothing. After the rework and alteration done by local home-working seamstresses, the brand hopes to find the next successor for these kimonos and continue their journey.
The first collection, Haori, and Kimono Robe are full of ivory, plum and blue colors with traditional Japanese floral pattern. Haori, originally meant to hang open in the front, are worn as a lightweight jacket for Kimono; and Kimono Robes are altered Kimonos to be worn more casually as a robe or gown. Range at around €80, each item is unique and one-of-a-kind, each with its own history up to over 100 years.
Kimonos are a representation of the beauty of Japan. Traditional and unique; each kimono has a different pattern that illustrates seasonal nature of Japan, the sometimes vibrant, sometimes very subtle color and design combination is not to be found anywhere else, in another word, they are hand-made art pieces in fine silk, only they are now wearable with daily outfit.
About the Brand: Based in Takayama, Japan, sustainable brand and online shop Kimono & Co. was founded in 2019. With a mission to provide another option for an ethical way of dressing, they recreate a new interpretation of the most beautiful and sustainable fabric, the traditional Japanese Kimono. Selecting high-quality vintage kimonos, local seamstresses carefully alter and rework them to be worn as robe or jacket over everyday wardrobe. The brand ships internationally directly from Japan.
https://kimonoand.co
https://instagram.com/kimonoandco
