The three UK musketeers of JROCK NEWS made a special pilgrimage to visit London’s famous V&A Museum for the Kimono: Kyoto to Catwalk exhibition. Featuring designs by Yoshiki of X-Japan, the Yoshikimono pieces were flown over from Japan to be on display at the prestigious venue.
To give you an introduction to Yosikimono, it is the name of the fashion brand that Yoshiki debuted back in 2011 at the Asia Girls Explosion at Yoyogi National Stadium, Tokyo. On top of his busy schedule, he has diligently continued to design and host catwalks for his kimono creations to this day. Most recently, fans of Netflix’s famous “organizing consultant” Marie Kondo wore a metallic and shimmery Yoshikimono for the cover of Numero Tokyo magazine in January this year, which sadly is not on display at this exhibition. Nevertheless, we had a fantastic night viewing the designs that are on display and want to share it with you!
It was Wednesday evening, wisps of clouds decorated the brilliantly, blue sky which laid a lovely backdrop for the red-brick museum. Whilst brisk winds blew through the bare branches that look forward to spring, we strolled through the Cromwell entrance of the museum where monochrome marble sculptures stood tall on pedestals, complimented against the walls and ceilings painted in warm creams and white.
Fast approaching Gallery 39 in the North Court where the temporary exhibitions are hosted, wooden doors with the Kimono exhibition posters concealed the secrets of the show as we waited to enter.
Pushing those large doors open revealed a faintly-lit, jade painted room, housing a series of old kimonos and wood pressed paintings. Layers of translucent silks hung from above to set a delicate and peaceful atmosphere.
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- Wood press illustrations.
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- Black and white drawings of the designs.
The showcase has been split into multiple areas that have been ordered from ancient Japan to the modern era. Flowing from room to room, each section has been painted in different colors and decorated using vibrantly colored mock-trees, mirrors and faux-rock formations in crimson and navy. The suggestion of traditional rock gardens using grains of blue and red synthetic sand has been meticulously groomed to form waves at the foot of the final room which we will be focusing on.
Yoshikimono sits in the center of the final room.
Standing tall in the center point of a curved, raised platform is Yoshiki’s kimono design from his 2016 spring and summer collection. The fishnets were perhaps the most eye-catching part of the punk rock design, layered with red and blue designs with a sparkly corset beneath.
Coming back to the show, we’d like to mention that behind the Yoshikomo display was Kiryu’s Orantan music video projected on the wall which was a wonderful surprise for us. We don’t want to spoil too much for those who wish to visit the wonderful V&A museum, so please take a look at a selection we’d like to highlight from the last room of the Kimono exhibition.
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- Traditional wedding kimono.
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- Pleated design by Issey Miyake.
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- Kimono inspired garments for Björk.
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- Puffy green kimono design with bamboo inspired hat.
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- Tiny Kitsune mask from the shop.
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- Kimono: Kyoto to Catwalk book.
To experience the Kimono: Kyoto to Catwalk exhibition tickets can be purchased on their website. The show ends on June 21, 2020, so make sure to pay a visit soon!
