Vintage kimonos, often regarded as family heirlooms and passed down through generations, are piling up in Japan’s secondhand markets as the garments fall out of fashion and the country’s population shrinks.
The long, loose attire is traditionally wrapped around the body in a series of precise folds, lifts and adjustments in a dressing process that can take 25 minutes or longer.
Designers are repurposing high-quality fabric from cast-off kimonos to make contemporary outfits more suited to today’s sensibilities and fashion. The transformation is as much an art as science.
Photo: AP
“People used to wear kimonos every day, and now they don’t because it’s uncomfortable’’ said Duni Park, whose Tokyo-based Gallery Shili transforms garments from Japan and her native South Korea into jumpsuits, shirts and scarves. “If things are to be continued to be used, they must evolve with lifestyles.”
Park, who has for the past few years been selling her clothing online and in pop-up shops in Tokyo department stores such as Takashimaya, is part of a circular economy movement that aims to extend the life of products.
It is a trend that even some major retailers support, as they use worn garment resales to limit their impact on climate and appeal to younger buyers.
Fifty to 60 percent of the 140,000 tonnes of textiles gathered through collection services at H&M stores have been directed to reuse and rewear purposes.
The Swedish fashion giant is also a majority shareholder in the secondhand online clothing retailer Sellpy.
US outdoor clothing retailer Patagonia allows customers to buy or trade in used clothing and gear through its Worn Wear Web site, and encourages repairs through its shops.
Fabric quality is a key factor in the ability to reuse or repurpose clothing, and many of the garments that are produced in the “fast fashion kind of retail” have a much shorter life trajectory, said Bryony Collins, an editor at BloombergNEF.
Historically, kimonos were made from materials including silk, cotton or wool, although newer versions also come in synthetics.
Kimonos used to have a life cycle that benefited entire families and communities, and lasted decades or longer. After the garments were too worn out to be used as clothing, they could be used as cushion covers and then rags or baby diapers before finally being burned and spread over fields as fertilizer, said Eisaku Hida, founder of Kimonoya Japan, an online marketplace.
“Kimonos are extremely eco-friendly,” said Hida, who often buys his secondhand supplies at auctions. “There’s no waste.”
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