Pillow books, kimonos and mottainai

For Rose!

My friend Rose is a video maker. For many years she worked in Japan. While there, she bought an embroidered kimono that, once back in the States, was out of place for her new lifestyle. Luckily for me, Rose sent me this wonderful kimono for my Muy Marcottage.

I enjoy using other women’s handiwork to make clothes.

Intimidated by the original embroidery, it’s not always easy to come up with a way of reutilizing such a garment without fear of ruining it. But, by the same token, it’s also useless to hoard things in a box. Finally, I came up with the idea of cutting the kimono in half and transforming it into a tailleur.

Naturally, I tried to respect the embroidery but, influenced by boro, my main concern was that of making something wearable.

Thanks to Linda Schailon of ECOPINK, I’ve been invited to participate in the Mostra Articiclo at the Fiera di Roma 13-16 December where “Mottainai,” the name I’ve given this kimono tailleur, will be exhibited.

The Japanese have a unique sense of aesthetics. Just think about pillow books, ikebana, haiku, wabi sabi.

And then there’s MOTTAINAI, a sense of regret for that which is wasted. Mottai = diginity or sacredness of an object and Nai = absence or lack.

Invisible threads bind so many women together without their knowledge…

Sashiko (刺し子^?, literally “little stabs”) is a form of decorative reinforcement stitching (or functional embroidery) from Japan. Traditionally used to reinforce points of wear, or to repair worn places or tears with patches, this running stitch technique is often used for purely decorative purposes in quilting and embroidery. The white cotton thread on the traditional indigo blue cloth gives sashiko its distinctive appearance, though decorative items sometimes use red thread. Many Sashiko patterns were derived from Chinese designs, but just as many were developed by the Japanese themselves. The artist Katsushika Hokusai (1760–1849) published the book New Forms for Design in 1824, and these designs have inspired many Sashiko patterns.

Kimona Style Dress, Moschino Cheap & Chic, Fall 2009, Milan

BORO, MANY EXAMPLES ON THIS WONDERFUL BLOG + Tenderly mended, on pinterest, things that have been mended.

The fisherman collection was inspired by 1800s Japanese fishermen and the distress and repair of that era. Kimono-inspired jackets and pants were transformed with Boro repair work and sashiko stitch to turn the garments into museum pieces.

Japanese modern design kimono, Welcome to my page which is introducing the Japanese modern design kimono from my collection. You will be surprised to see how they look modern or contemporary in spite they were made about between 1930s and 1950s.

19TH CENTURY ITALIAN CHAIRS, These outstanding hand carved gilded Italian chairs, circa 1890, were originally covered in a fine aubusson. Now they have found a new life reupholstered in Japanese boro. Boro means rags in Japanese.

Hiromi Saito Brings Age-Old Kimonos into Your Daily Life + Mamechiyo describes her kimonos as modern landscapes, where the Eastern and Western worlds collide.

Ann Asakura with a kimono she pieced together to tell a story of Japanese-American history in the islands.

Contemporary Beautiful Women who Like Kimono + Prada kimono + Gabriele Colangelo kimono + Recline in Green Kimono + Sashiko western shirt + Fusion kimono.