Past Exhibition Ran from 27 August 2020 to 25 October 2020

Kimono: Kyoto to Catwalk

This exhibition is now closed at V&A South Kensington

This exhibition presented 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

Kimono with an orange and white swirling pattern. White areas around the swirling have orange flowers with green stems.
Outer-kimono for a young woman (uchikake), 1800 – 30, probably Kyoto, Japan. © Image Courtesy of the Joshibi University of Art and Design Art Museum
Woodblock print of a woman wearing a black and grey kimono. She holds a red fabric, and a blue and purple fabric
Woodblock print, by Utagawa Kunisada I, 1847 – 1852, Japan. Museum no. CIRC.638-1962. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
A woman wearing a black and white patterned Kimono. The patterns are polka dots and stripes
Kimono ensemble, HIROCOLEDGE by Hiroko Takahashi, 2009, Japan. © Image courtesy of Hiroko Takahashi
Model wearing a yellow, black and purple Kimono with polka dots inside the stripes and a flower at the waist
Wrap coat, by Duro Olowu, 2015, England. © Duro Olowu
Kimono with a tree branch growing up it, a blue ocean pattern at the bottom, flowers and red leaves throughout.
Kimono for a young woman (furisode), 1905 – 20, probably Kyoto, Japan. © Khalili Collection, K106
Painting of a woman wearing a black floral kimono, with her hand in a bowl of water
Anna Elizabeth van Reede, by Gerard Hoet, 1678, Netherlands. © Slot Zuylen
Hanging scroll featuring a woman wearing a kimono coming down the stairs, with a fluffy cat around her neck.
'Kaidan' (staircase) hanging scroll, by Kobayakawa Kiyoshi, 1935, Japan. © Levenson Collection
robe with sash
Robe with sash, 1905 – 15, probably Kyoto, Japan. Museum no. FE.46:1, 2-2018. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Costume for Obi-Wan Kenobi - long cream/brown kimono with a dark brown belt
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
Black, white and grey kimono, with a diamond/square pattern
'Beyond', kimono, designed by Moriguchi Kunihiko, 2005, Japan. © Moriguchi Kunihiko
Silky golden-yellow mantle with loose bow at the hip
Mantle, designed by Paul Poiret, about 1913, Paris. Museum no. T.165&A-1967. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Woman wearing black and red kimono with a black dragon on the back
Woodblock print, Katsukawa Shunsen, 1804 – 18, Japan. Museum no. E.12564-1886. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Two golden boxes with engraved flowers and black tassels at the bottom. They each open up to reveal a mirror inside
Vanity case in the shape of an inro, Cartier, photograph by Nils Herrmann, Cartier Collection. © Cartier

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