The word “kimono” in the Western mindset evokes different images: a traditional item of clothing from Japan, the notion of a dressing gown to be worn indoors sometimes in intimate or even erotic...Show moreThe word “kimono” in the Western mindset evokes different images: a traditional item of clothing from Japan, the notion of a dressing gown to be worn indoors sometimes in intimate or even erotic settings, a coded femininity and a fashionable item. The object of this research is to look at three ways in which the kimono was introduced and subsequently integrated into the Western artistic, material and imaginary landscape of the turn of the 20th century: as a collectible material object, a theme in paintings and photographs as well as an influencing force in the realm of female fashion. The main idea of this paper is understanding why the kimono had such an immense popularity across these fields and audiences in the West as well as to point to the high adaptability of the garment. It is capable of undertaking several, sometimes contradictory, meanings and its simple shape, yet intricate esthetic, made it the ideal recipient of global and local dynamics of the 19th and 20th century int he West. In material culture it was presented as an Oriental accessory enabling fantasist imaginary spectacle. In art and in visual mediums, it framed the female, white body: domestic, exotic and erotic. In fashion, its slow assimilation into female dress participated into a still Orientalist but nonetheless modernizing dynamic, motivating the invention of practical and simpler garments for women living in a new world.Show less
