Yoshikimono is a

kimono The is a traditional Japanese garment and the national dress of Japan. The kimono is a wrapped-front garment with square sleeves and a rectangular body, and is worn left side wrapped over right, unless the wearer is deceased. The kimono ...

fashion brand created by Japanese rock musician

Yoshiki Yoshiki is a masculine Japanese given name. Possible writings Yoshiki can be written using many different combinations of kanji characters. Here are some examples: *義樹, "justice, tree" *義基, "justice, foundation" *義機, "justice, opportu ...

. After its debut at Asia Girls Explosion in 2011, the brand has been featured as a headliner presentation at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Tokyo 2016, Amazon Fashion Week Tokyo 2017, and Rakuten Fashion Week Tokyo 2020, receiving critical acclaim for its modern approach to Japan's traditional garment.

History

Yoshiki debuted the fashion brand on March 6, 2011, at Asia Girls Explosion at

Yoyogi National Stadium Yoyogi National Gymnasium, officially is an indoor arena located at Yoyogi Park in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan, which is famous for its suspension roof design. It was designed by Kenzo Tange and built between 1961 and 1964 to house swimming and d ...

in Tokyo. The event was co-produced by Yoshiki and featured

Marilyn Manson Brian Hugh Warner (born January 5, 1969), known professionally as Marilyn Manson, is an American rock musician. He came to prominence as the lead singer of the band which shares his name, of which he remains the only constant member since it ...

as a runway model. Yoshiki created the fashion brand to pay tribute to his parents who ran a kimono shop when he was growing up. "It is a tradition in Japan that the eldest male takes on the family business, but I rebelled and got into rock'nroll. With the Yoshikimono line, I feel I'm keeping my parents' dream alive." On October 17, 2015, Yoshikimono was the closing presentation of Mercedes-Benz Tokyo Fashion Week 2016. One year later, Yoshikimono opened Amazon Fashion Week Tokyo 2017 S/S on October 17, 2016. On October 14, 2019, Yoshikimono was featured as the opening presentation of Rakuten Tokyo Fashion Week 2020 S/S at Shibuya Hikarie. In January 2020, Marie Kondo wore Yoshikimono for the cover of ''Numero Tokyo'' magazine. In February, Yoshikimono was announced as part of the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

's "Kimono: Kyoto to Catwalk" exhibition in London. In June 2020, Yoshikimono was featured in the Tokyo National Museum's "Kimono" historical retrospective.

Critical reception

Yoshikimono has received positive reviews based on the brand's non-traditional approach to kimono. ''

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was estab ...

'' said that Yoshikimono put "a modern twist on the traditional Japanese garment." ''

Vogue Japan ''Vogue'' is an American monthly fashion and lifestyle magazine that covers many topics, including haute couture fashion, beauty, culture, living, and runway. Based at One World Trade Center in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan, ''Vogue ...

'' highlighted the brand's "gorgeous style" and "rock spirit", and ''WWD'' called Yoshikimono's 2020 collection "innovative" and "sexy".

Theatrical presentation

Yoshikimono's presentations are produced with "plenty of drama and a higher production value than is typical" for fashion events. Yoshiki played piano with a model posing erotically on top of his signature glass piano for Mercedes-Benz Tokyo Fashion Week 2016, and performed a drum solo under pouring rain on the runway for Amazon Fashion Week Tokyo 2017. For Rakuten Tokyo Fashion Week S/S 2020, Yoshiki bathed the runway in falling rose petals.

Pop culture references

The Yoshikimono 2020 collection featured kimono patterns with visual elements of the

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

series ''

Attack on Titan is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hajime Isayama. It is set in a world where humanity is forced to live in cities surrounded by three enormous walls that protect them from gigantic man-eating humanoids referred to as ...

'' and the comic book ''Blood Red Dragon.''

External links

Official Yoshikimono website

References

{{reflist Clothing brands of Japan High fashion brands Robes and cloaks 2011 establishments in Japan