The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York has been showing an exhibition since June 7th that deals with the cultural transformation of the kimono between the 18th and 20th centuries. ‘Tracing the Transformation of Kimono Fashion’ takes a special look at the relationship between the Japanese and the Western view of the traditional garment.
Spread across ten galleries, the exhibition features more than 60 kimonos displayed alongside Western clothing, Japanese paintings and prints, and decorative art objects.
The exhibition illustrates the role of the kimono as a source of inspiration for new motifs and cuts in the western world. It also addresses the dynamic in which the Japanese tradition provided a basis for western design and the western elements changed the original design. “This extraordinary exhibition presents the kimono from a transnational perspective that emphasizes the artistic dialogues between Japan and the West, as well as the garment’s enduring influence on designers around the world,” said Max Hollein, director of the Mets.
A garment that tells the history and culture of Japan
The exhibition takes visitors on a chronological journey through time, beginning in the 14th century with traditional textile products worn in the Japanese theater forms ‘Noh’ and ‘Kyogen’. From silk samurai clothing and its role as an expression of subtle rebellion during a period of military rule, to shipping routes that enabled cotton imports and thus new forms of textile finishing, to new-fangled interpretations with a Western touch in the second half of the 20th century – the exhibition outlines the historical development of this important piece of clothing.
“The variety of prints and colors and the rapidly changing trends tell a lot about Japanese culture and society when we shed light on the circumstances of the wearers of these special garments and their production techniques,” says Monika Bincsik, Diane and Arthur Abbey Associate Curator for Japanese Decorative Arts.
