Brand name kimono at United Arrows

Written by: Rebecca Milner on April 7, 2008 at 6:04 pm | In Fashion & Lifestyle Trends |

Kimono designers, despite their traditional credibility and long family history in the fashion industry, hardly have the name recognition of, say, Christian Dior, even in their native country. Recently, however, popular mid-level clothing chain United Arrows began working together with top of the line Kyoto-based kimono makers to create a line of limited edition men’s and women’s kimono from Yamaishi and yukata (lightweight summer kimono) from Kondaya, available this month.

The fashionable shop, with outlets all over Tokyo and Japan held a kimono fashion show during Japan Fashion Week, and will reprise the event this month in its Harajuku flagship. The kimonos themselves are billed as traditional and innovative and likened to couture fashion for the discerning customer, as an alternative, but no less stylish, option to the Balenciaga numbers on the adjacent rack.

This move draws on both the recent interest in returning to traditional craft and manufacturing processes and the established cult of the brand name fashion designer in Japan.

While United Arrows has been selling kimono since 2004, this is their first attempt to brand the designers as fashion icons in their own right alongside the other famous makers of western apparel that United Arrows sells. From their brief experience in the kimono business, United Arrows claims that customers (especially younger ones) are more likely to consider buying traditional Japanese clothes if they are sold in the same context and space as the Western style ones they are accustomed to purchasing. And so long as they are, we will likely continue to see more of the “back to Japan” trend in mainstream retail.

Tags: Back to Japan, Fashion, Kimono, Retail, United Arrows
Category: Fashion & Lifestyle Trends
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