From Japan to Australia, the kimono emerges as symbol of creative expression

From everyday wear to high fashion staple, and back again, the kimono has always adapted with the times. Here’s how this most iconic of Japanese garments has found a following among a new generation in Australia.

Tallulah Cannigham (right) and Ellen Bird, both members of the International Kimono Club Sydney, at Gunners Barracks in Mosman in 2018. Source: International Kimono Club Sydney

Key Points

• Kimono, which means ‘thing to wear’ in Japanese, is enjoying a resurgence inside and outside Japan 
• #KimoNovember is a social media challenge where participants are encouraged to wear a different kimono every day throughout the month
• ‘People in Australia can enjoy the kimono without being bound by Japanese tradition and rules’: Tae Gessner, president of International Kimono Club Sydney 

One Saturday in June, the Sydney Opera House became the backdrop for what looked like a Japanese period drama as a group of devotees clad in kimono gathered on its steps and posed for photos. 

 

The event organised by Sydney-based business Kimono Australia saw participants wear kurotomesode (black kimono with patterns around the hem). Considered the most formal kimono for married women, it is usually only worn on limited occasions. 

However, this has changed recently with the younger generation raiding their mothers’ or grandmothers’ wardrobes for the kurotomesode and wearing it with Western boots or other modern twists.  

When Kimono Australia posted footage of the outing on social media, one comment said, “Kurotomesode is such a tough kimono to wear creatively, due to its formalness and tradition. But [in the video] everyone wore it in their own way beautifully. Maybe being outside Japan helped.” 

The kimono, which means ‘thing to wear’ in Japanese, can be traced back to Japan's Heian period, over 1,000 years ago, and its status has changed a lot over time.

As the national dress of Japan, it was worn commonly in everyday life until after World War II when it was replaced by Western clothing considered more modern and practical. 

For the general public, it transformed into luxury wear reserved only for special occasions like weddings and ceremonies.  

While demand for the kimono has shrunk greatly over the years, it’s back in fashion among some young fans overseas, including in Australia.

Tae Gessner, a Sydney-based Japanese kimono enthusiast and president of the International Kimono Club Sydney. Source: Tae Gessner

'The world of kimono is expanding'

Tae Gessner never imagined she could make a career out of the kimono in Australia. Growing up she was fascinated by the traditional garment and to this day her mother runs a kimono draper shop in Japan.   

After completing a two-year specialised course at a kimono school, Ms Gessner then worked for a large kimono wholesaler. 

Today she is president of the International Kimono Club Sydney (IKCS), which she started in 2013 after an unexpected encounter with a local kimono fan.    

“I wanted to have a place to enjoy wearing kimono together with like-minded people [in Sydney], regardless of nationality, age or gender,” she said.

Members of the International Kimono Club Sydney enjoys their "Kimono de Yoga (Let's do Yoga in Kimono)" event. Participants wear comfortable clothing with haori (kimono jacket). Source: International Kimono Club Sydney

The club, one of several found across Australia, has around 50 members in its discussion group and holds regular outings, ranging from dinners to even yoga. Recently they planned to host a ‘Japanese New Year in July’ event, but they had to cancel it due to the lockdown. 

Ms Gessner said some of IKCS’s younger members, with or without Japanese background, had first learned how to wear kimono via YouTube and had developed their own creative ways of styling.   

On the other hand, some older members with Japanese background wear the kimono in a more traditional way to reconnect with their cultural identity.   

One thing is common, both generations enjoy wearing it.  

I think that people in Australia can enjoy the kimono as either 'art' or 'fashion', without being bound by Japanese tradition and rules.

Tae Gessner

"Thanks to people who love the kimono and enjoy it freely, the world of kimono is expanding in Sydney,” Ms Gessner said.  

“At the same time, as a Japanese kimono expert, I’d like to maintain the traditional, and cultural aspects of the kimono for others too. I feel somehow responsible [for keeping the kimono tradition alive].”  

Ms Gessner said Sydney has a few kimono groups, including Kimono Australia and Kimono Enjoy Club, and there are similar clubs in Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Hobart. 

#KimoNovember

The kimono is celebrated more than usual in November. 

As far back as 1966, All Japan Kimono Promoting Association designated 15 November as Kimono Day, a day when Japanese families with a 5-year-old boy or a girl aged 3 or 7 celebrate the Shichigosan ('seven-five-three' in Japanese) festival to pray for the healthy growth of their children. It is considered a good day for the whole family, including children, to wear kimono. 

More recently, kimono lovers have taken their passion online. 

Some IKCS members are participating in #KimoNovember, a social media challenge where participants are encouraged to wear a different kimono every day or as often as possible throughout November and post photos online.  

One of those participating is Tallulah Cunningham, an illustrator based in the Hunter region of NSW, who fell in love with the kimono through reading manga, Japanese graphic novels.   

“What I love about kimono - among the many, many things - is that when I wear one I am reminded to slow down and take my time, to be more mindful with my personal space,” Ms Cunningham said. 

In picking the colours and patterns of the various elements of a kitsuke (dressing style), I can tell a story about the season, my plans for the day, or the mood I am in.

Tallulah Cunningham

Tallulah, a member of International Kimono Club Sydney, is participating in the #KimoNovember social media challenge. Source: International Kimono Club Sydney

Kimono as ethical fashion

For many Westerners, the kimono has long stood as an symbol of exotic Japan, however misconceived. 

Today the garment has also become a symbol of the ethical fashion movement.  

According to the Climate Council, the global fashion industry emits more CO2 than the shipping and aviation industries combined, leading many to seek more sustainable forms of clothing.  

Ms Gessner believes that as consumers have grown more environmentally conscious, they have rediscovered the kimono as ethical fashion.

“The kimono is sewn by mostly straight lines, which means there are minimal offcuts during the production process,” said Ms Gessner, speaking during a lecture at Fashion Hub 2019 at Sherman Centre for Culture and Ideas in Sydney.

The garment is traditional handed down from generation to generation, and worn-out kimono can be reformed as bags and skirts, and eventually cut for crafts or used as cleaning cloth before being thrown away.

Tae Gessner

For more Japanese stories and articles, follow us on Facebook.