Tokyo Weekender July 2016

EVERY GARMENT I WEAR IS A STORY,
AND I’M JUST ANOTHER CHAPTER IN
THAT GARMENT’S STORY
also much more connected with nature,
climate, the seasons and place. Also, a dress
or a shirt and pants are kind of a done deal.
You can add some earrings or something,
but what you buy is basically what you
wear. If I buy 50 obi, then that’s 50 different
outfits with this one kimono. That’s fascinating
to me. Anyone who loves the idea
of putting an outfit together will become
hooked on kimono.”
On her own kimono-wearing style, Cliffe
says, “Contrast works with kimono. I limit
the number of colors I use, and those colors
are almost always opposites on the color
circle. I don’t look at any of the magazines
telling you what’s right or wrong. If I look at
those, I know I’m going to end up dressing
the same as everyone else. When you do
that, you lose all the power of expression.
I go my own way. I think it’s normal and
ordinary, but people seem to think it’s interesting.
I suppose dressing is my art.”
Cliffe also mentions that kimono are
usually inherited, connecting people across
generations. Silk is said to last a hundred
years, which is roughly equal to three generations.
Given its long life and the fact that
silk kimono are kept for formal occasions
and thus remain in good condition, being
able to wear a hundred-year-old kimono is
not unusual. Cliffe explains, “I pick up the
old ones and wear them until they fall apart.
Kimono has long been
pigeon-holed as the
“national costume”
of Japan, and largely
ignored by Western
fashion academics who view it
as an unchanging garment that
simply serves the purpose of
covering the body. It is clothing,
but it isn’t considered fashion.
Dr. Sheila Cliffe, who moved
from Bristol to Japan in 1985 and
is a professor at Jumonji Gakuen
Women’s University in Saitama,
aims to shatter this antiquated
and Eurocentric view of the
kimono in her book The Social
Life of Kimono. Spoiler alert: she
succeeds. Her in-depth social
analysis of past and present kimono
wearers, as well as makers
and craftsmen in the industry,
indicates kimono is part of a
complete fashion system separate
from the West.
Cliffe’s passion for kimono
is infectious, and her deep
knowledge on the subject – both
academically and aesthetically
– is nothing less than inspiring.
When asked what kimono means
to her, Cliffe tells Weekender:
“It’s fashion, very simply. But
it’s far more interesting than
Western fashion, for a lot of reasons:
it’s slow and it’s three-dimensional.
It caters to multiple
audiences because of that. It’s
TOKYO WEEKENDER | JULY 2017 | 27