During the first decades of the 20th century, women massively moved to Western dress, especially those who entered workforce as office or retail workers. Elite women would mostly go on wearing Japanese dress, but often it would have been matched...
Model: @itsnangemagro Photograph: @g_a_j_o_s Nange Magro (@itsnangemagro) is an Italian fashion designer based in London. Her father was a Japanese sculptor, and her mother an Italian painter, which ensured she was surrounded by art from an early age. This led to her...
Meiji Period Hairstyles by Ginko Adachi (1885) With the Meiji Restoration of 1868, Japan opened its borders to the world and numerous outer influences started pouring into the country. Foreign styles and designs began to impact Japanese fashion; one of...
Dancer in Yellow by Kaoru Kawano (1950s) This charming modern print portrays a dancing young beauty wearing a bright yellow kimono. A modern girl, she sports a fashionable hairstyle characteristic of the post-war era. Kawano used the woodgrain of the...
Beauties Sewing by Chikanobu Toyohara (1885) Efficiently cut from a single bolt of cloth, kimono have always been remarkably sustainable, producing minimal waste. The triptych by Chikanobu Toyohara (1838-1912) contains a series of cartouches (top) that show patterns for cutting narrow...
Courtesan Nagao with Attendants by Sencho (c. 1840) Courtesans (oiran), in defiance of laws prohibiting sex workers from wearing extravagant fashions, donned intentionally impractical outfits as visual representations of their influence. The obi belt of an oiran was always tied at the front, which...
