Exhibition On now until Sunday, 21 June 2020

Kimono: Kyoto to Catwalk

  • On now until Sunday, 21 June 2020

  • Gallery 39 and the North Court

  • £16 – £18

    Variable ticket pricing applies between 8 – 21 June

Exhibitions are free for Members – join now

This exhibition presents the kimono as a dynamic and constantly evolving icon of fashion, revealing the sartorial, aesthetic and social significance of the garment from the 1660s to the present day, both in Japan and the rest of the world.

Exhibition Trailer

Kimono: Kyoto to Catwalk trailer
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Exhibition Highlights

Outer-kimono for a young woman (uchikake), 1800 – 30, probably Kyoto, Japan. © Image Courtesy of the Joshibi University of Art and Design Art Museum, 2204-36
Fashionable brocade patterns of the Imperial Palace, woodblock print, made by Utagawa Kunisada, 1847-1852, Japan. Museum no. Circ.636 to Circ. 638– 1962. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Kimono ensemble, HIROCOLEDGE by Hiroko Takahashi, 2009 Japan.
Wrap coat, designed by Duro Olowu, Autumn/Winter 2015, England. © Duro Olowu
Kimono for a young woman (furisode), 1905–20, probably Kyoto, Japan. © Khalili Collection, K106
Anna Elizabeth van Reede, by Gerard Hoet, 1678, Netherlands. © Slot Zuylen
Hanging scroll featuring a woman coming down the stairs.
'Kaidan' ( staircase), hanging scroll, by Kobayakawa Kiyoshi, 1935, Japan. © Levenson Collection
Kimono for export, probably Kyoto, Japan, 1905-15. Museum no. FE.46-2018. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Costume for Obi-Wan Kenobi, played by Alec Guinness (1914-2000) in the 1977 film Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope, designed
Costume for Obi-Wan Kenobi, played by Alec Guinness (1914-2000) in the 1977 film Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope, designed by John Mollo, 1977, USA. © LucasFilms Ltd
'Beyond', kimono, designed by Moriguchi Kunihiko, 2005, Japan. © Moriguchi Kunihiko
Mantle, designed by Paul Poiret, about 1913, Paris. Museum no. T.165-1967. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Standing courtesan, colour print from woodblocks, Katsukawa Shunsen, 1804-18, Japan. Museum no. E.12564-1886. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Vanity case in the shape of an inro, Cartier, photograph by Nils Herrmann, Cartier Collection © Cartier

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Kimono: Kyoto to Catwalk
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Background image: KIMONO Times, Akira Times, 2017. © Akira Times