TOKYO: Tokyo fashion week drew to a close at the weekend showcasing a glamorous new twist on the kimono, as the Japanese classic makes a quiet comeback into women’s wardrobes.
In a departure from the heavy silk usually used to make the traditional garb, designers are turning to other fabrics such as jersey, wool and even denim to reinvent the kimono.
“The kimono is fashion... it shouldn’t be presented as old-fashioned,” said celebrated designer Jotaro Saito.
“I want to spread the message that kimono can be worn every day, it’s something people can wear like they wear modern clothes, not... something that makes them feel like they are in a costume,” Saito told AFP.
Kimono, which translates as “something to wear,” was originally an umbrella term that covered a range of garments worn by Japanese men and women for centuries, but has now come to signify an outer robe tied with a wide sash known as an obi.
The kimono’s decline dates back to the late 1800s when Japan’s rulers opened up the country to modern influences after hundreds of years of self-imposed seclusion, signaling a shift that would see future generations embrace western clothing.
The garment never quite recovered its popularity thanks to a prohibitively high cost that can run into the thousands of dollars, compelling many brides to rent rather than purchase kimono for their weddings.
But observers said the fashion industry’s renewed interest may do more to ensure its survival.
Designer Saito, born into a family of kimono-dyeing artists in Kyoto, has worked with the garment for two decades and believes change is critical to its future in fashion.
“What we need to do now is evolve the kimono. We cannot just do what previous generations have already done,” Saito said.
In a nod to labor-intensive Japanese traditions, Saito’s kimono — which can cost more than one million yen ($8,300) — are all made by hand, from the dyeing stages to stitching, printing and embroidery.
In his debut showing Saturday night at fashion week, heavy-metal rocker Yoshiki collaborated with a Kyoto-based brand on body-hugging kimono, slashed to miniskirt-length and worn with stilettos, leather collars and high-heeled boots.
The dyed-blonde co-founder of the band X Japan — who opened the show with a piano recital from Swan Lake — used leopard-print fabric and gold netting in his designs and told AFP he wanted to see women wear his kimono to concerts.
“I tried to combine rock & roll with tradition,” he said.
Kimonos get rock ‘n’ roll makeover
Kimonos get rock ‘n’ roll makeover
Fans bid farewell to Japan’s only pandas
TOKYO: Panda lovers in Tokyo said goodbye on Sunday to a hugely popular pair of the bears that are set to return to China, leaving Japan without the beloved animals for the first time in half a century.
Loaned out as part of China’s “panda diplomacy” program, the distinctive black-and-white animals have symbolized friendship between Beijing and Tokyo since the normalization of diplomatic ties in 1972.
Some visitors at Ueno Zoological Gardens were left teary-eyed as they watched Japan’s only two pandas Lei Lei and Xiao Xiao munch on bamboo.
The animals are expected to leave for China on Tuesday following a souring of relations between Asia’s two largest economies.
“I feel like seeing pandas can help create a connection with China too, so in that sense I really would like pandas to come back to Japan again,” said Gen Takahashi, 39, a Tokyo resident who visited the zoo with his wife and their two-year-old daughter.
“Kids love pandas as well, so if we could see them with our own eyes in Japan, I’d definitely want to go.”
The pandas’ abrupt return was announced last month after Japan’s conservative premier Sanae Takaichi hinted Tokyo could intervene militarily in the event of any attack on Taiwan.
Her comment provoked the ire of Beijing, which regards the island as its own territory.
The 4,400 lucky winners of an online lottery took turns viewing the four-year-old twins at Ueno zoo while others gathered nearby, many sporting panda-themed shirts, bags and dolls to celebrate the moment.
Mayuko Sumida traveled several hours from the central Aichi region in the hope of seeing them despite not winning the lottery.
“Even though it’s so big, its movements are really funny-sometimes it even acts kind of like a person,” she said, adding that she was “totally hooked.”
“Japan’s going to be left with zero pandas. It feels kind of sad,” she said.
Their departure might not be politically motivated, but if pandas return to Japan in the future it would symbolize warming relations, said Masaki Ienaga, a professor at Tokyo Woman’s Christian University and expert in East Asian international relations.
“In the future...if there are intentions of improving bilateral ties on both sides, it’s possible that (the return of) pandas will be on the table,” he told AFP.
