Emblematic icon of Japanese identity, the kimono is, today, an essential fashion piece. From the schools for Samurai to the catwalks, from Kabuki actors to international Pop stars, this garb transcends all categories and confines to appear in the least expected contexts. To learn its history and admire some of the finest examples, just head over to the exhibition Kimono, underway until the 28th of May at the Musée du Quai Branly, where an itinerary conceived at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London retraces the history of the Kimono from every imaginable angle. With its more than one-thousand years of history, the kimono - literally “that which is worn” - incarnates, in the eyes of the Japanese, their national culture and sensibilities. It all began in the Edo period (1603-1868) when it became the supreme traditional garb, worn by all Japanese, regardless of gender or social status. This golden era saw the extraordinary development of its production and the birth of a fashion culture, thanks to the enthusiasm of the world of performing arts. Celebrities and public figures at the time - Kabuki actors leading the pack - became the first icons of Japanese fashion. While at the end of the XVII Century, the kimono timidly reached the coasts of Europe, in the 1850s, with the opening of Japan to foreign commerce, it headed to the West which was charmed by how exotic it was. Only later on, denying it traditional and timeless nature, would it conquer the scissors of the world’s greatest stylists, such as John Galliano and Alexander McQueen, only then to be revisited, in an innovative (and sometimes subversive) way by Japanese youth.
