During Meiji era kimonos imported from Japan became increasingly fashionable in the West. Modern clothing reform movements in Europe and America at the time popularized the kimono as a garment alternative to the tight-fitting corsets. Those were being seen as uncomfortable and unhealthy and also as symbols of confinement of women to their traditional feminine roles. Referring to the the outer robe uchikake, the kimono’s loose flowing lines have contributed to the liberation of Western women and was of particular interest to those with idealistic social or political views.
Especially in the French fashion world one designer after another showed collections deeply influenced by Japonism. In 1903 designer Paul Poiret began to create clothes with hints of a kimono look and three years later he introduced his new silhouette freed from the corset for the first time since the Renaissance. Its long straight lines, and its simple construction from flat, seamed pieces of fabric, used the rectangular cut of the kimono. The new garment fell in a new two-dimensional silhouette from the shoulder, rather than emphasized the bust and waist. Also other modernist designers as for instance, the Parisian Madeleine Vionnet was inspired in the kimono’s loose silhouette and its color patterns.
The French designers found a potential in the garment that not even the Japanese had considered. The new silhouette they created would make its way back across the Pacific and Japanese modern girls (moga) would pick up these dresses based on clothes in their mother’s wardrobe.
01 Artist: Georges Lepape (French, 1887-1971) Artwork: Cover for Vogue Magazine, Februar 1922
02 Artwork: 1901 – Advertisement for Kimono Sada Yacco, Paris
03 Artist: Paul Poiret (1879-1944) Artwork: 1923 – Model with indoor coat
04 Artwork: Advertisement from the early 1900s for Babani, Paris, showing a Western woman wearing a Japanese kimono, imported by Babani.
05 Artist: Madeline Vionnet (1876-1975) Artwork: 1919 – Chiffon gown
06 Artist: Paul Poiret (1879-1944) Artwork: 1913 – Mantle. Made of bright yellow wool and lined with black chiffon. Based on a deconstructed kimono, it is composed of two rectangles folded on the shoulders and joined on one side with a stylised bow. Photo: Courtesy of Victoria and Albert Museum
07 Artists: Babani (1894-1940) Artwork: 1915 – House coat, re-fashioned from a Japanese kimono (furisode). Re-lined with pink and light blue silk plain weave. They used to import Japanese garments and adapt them to Western fitting and customs. Photo: Courtesy of Victoria and Albert Museum
08 Artwork: ca 1905 from Kyoto. This kimono was made in Japan specifically for export. The addition of a triangular piece of fabric at the back makes it drape like a skirt. It is secured with a matching sash, rather than an obi. Photo: Courtesy of Victoria and Albert Museum
09 Artist: Jacques Doucet (1853-1929) Artwork: 1897 – Kimono dressing gown