Photo:Seiji Shibuya Model:Mari Takahashi
Our mission statement is in the spirit of “Mottainai”, which has become the world common word.
It is very Mottainai that you have your Kimonos without being revealed in front of your eyes for such sundry reasons as lying deep in your wardrobe, whose owner was gone, or which became to be a white elephant, and etc.
In today's Japanese lifestyle, western clothes have become everyday outfits, making it difficult to wear kimonos every day like in the past. Therefore, there are so many kimonos that became white elephants, and that sleep in your chest of drawers that you never open and piles of them are in flea markets.
We are fully aware that the current state of kimono, Japan's unique technology and sensibility is at the brink of extinction, which is nothing but very Mottainai. At the same time, we know how beautiful kimono is. For example, there are lots of materials and weaving and dyeing methods depending on regions, seasons, and each one of them is very attractive. This is the very reason why we started up our brand, “kimo no kiru”. We, professionals with craftsmanship, tailor those kimonos to outfits with a modern touch, which you can also pass on to the next generation. You can actually give your kimono a new lease of life.
A roll of Kimono's cloth is about 36 centimeters in width and 12 meters in length. It is then cut into
quadrangles without any waste and tailored by hand sewing to make it into a kimono.Kimono with a planar structure can be altered because of its composition, so it has been passed on from parents to their children and again to their children. We believe that the culture of the spirit of treating things gently is too important to forget especially at present times when too many people simply throw things away without noticing that it leads to global warming.
The longer kimono and Obi with natural materials sleep in your chest of drawers, the more they will suffer from discoloration and damage by molds and others. Even if it becomes unwearable as "Kimono", it is still valuable as a material. Sometimes even its aging creates some tastes. It can be transformed into the line of ready-made or tailor-made garments. It is our craftsmanship to give them a whole new life.
we would like to explore more possibility of kimono and obi that sleeps wittingly or unwittingly in the chest.
kimo no kiru