Exhibition Opening on Thursday, 27 August 2020

Kimono: Kyoto to Catwalk

  • Opening on Thursday, 27 August 2020

  • Thurs – Sun, 11:00 – 19:00

    Last admission 17:30

  • Gallery 39 and the North Court

  • £16 – £18

    Concessions apply.
    Advance booking is recommended

    Members go free, but need to book

Members visit free – join now and book online

This exhibition will present the kimono as a dynamic and constantly evolving icon of fashion, revealing the sartorial, aesthetic and social significance of the garment from the 1660s to the present day, both in Japan and the rest of the world.

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Exhibition Highlights

Outer-kimono for a young woman (uchikake), 1800 – 30, probably Kyoto, Japan. © Image Courtesy of the Joshibi University of Art and Design Art Museum, 2204-36.
Fashionable brocade patterns of the Imperial Palace, woodblock print, made by Utagawa Kunisada, 1847-1852, Japan. Museum no. Circ.636 to Circ. 638– 1962. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
Kimono ensemble, HIROCOLEDGE by Hiroko Takahashi, 2009 Japan. .
Wrap coat, designed by Duro Olowu, Autumn/Winter 2015, England. © Duro Olowu.
Kimono for a young woman (furisode), 1905–20, probably Kyoto, Japan. © Khalili Collection, K106.
Anna Elizabeth van Reede, by Gerard Hoet, 1678, Netherlands. © Slot Zuylen.
Hanging scroll featuring a woman coming down the stairs.
'Kaidan' ( staircase), hanging scroll, by Kobayakawa Kiyoshi, 1935, Japan. © Levenson Collection.
Kimono for export, probably Kyoto, Japan, 1905-15. Museum no. FE.46-2018. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
Costume for Obi-Wan Kenobi, played by Alec Guinness (1914-2000) in the 1977 film Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope, designed
Costume for Obi-Wan Kenobi, played by Alec Guinness (1914-2000) in the 1977 film Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope, designed by John Mollo, 1977, USA. © LucasFilms Ltd.
'Beyond', kimono, designed by Moriguchi Kunihiko, 2005, Japan. © Moriguchi Kunihiko.
Mantle, designed by Paul Poiret, about 1913, Paris. Museum no. T.165-1967. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
Standing courtesan, colour print from woodblocks, Katsukawa Shunsen, 1804-18, Japan. Museum no. E.12564-1886. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
Vanity case in the shape of an inro, Cartier, photograph by Nils Herrmann, Cartier Collection © Cartier.

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Kimono: Kyoto to Catwalk

Kimono: Kyoto to Catwalk

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From rugged Japanese firemen’s ceremonial robes and austere rural work-wear to colourful, delicately-patterned cotton kimonos, this lavishly illustrated volume explores Japan’s rich tradition of textiles.

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Kimono: Kyoto to Catwalk
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Background image: KIMONO Times, Akira Times, 2017. © Akira Times