Project Designer: Kimono

PROJECT DESIGNER CYCLE 3
[Design Topic 10] Without Further Asian Ado

MODEL STATS
Name: Tatiana
Hair Color: Black
Ethnicity: Carribean

*Bottle blue silk robe embroidered with "Cranes in the Falling Snow" design
*Royal red kimono-style silk top with faint white fog print
*Snow white and sunny yellow hakama style silk pants
*Golden yellow thick silk obi
*Ebony black satin sash
*Royal red and golden yellow okobo style shoes
*Royal red hair decoration with golden yellow silk cord tassels (inspired by haori-himo)

Personal Notes:
*FAINT. Almost finals.
*Bottle blue color of the robe is actually inspired by a sake bottle. And the shape is actually based on the uwagi of the juni-hitoe from the Heian period, where fashion flourished. Though it certainly made court ladies slaves of fashion -20 layers of robes, can you believe it?
*Cranes represent longevity, and the Japanese cranes are absolutely magnificent creatures. Especially in photos where they're standing among the snow -gorgeous.
*Pants based on the pleated hakama of the Tokugawa period. Women's hakamas now are usually a single color, or a gradient.
*Red was the royal color during the Heian period. The top is based on the sugimi.
*The obi is of course westernized. There's no knot at the back.
*The sash is tied on the front, based on the obis of martial arts. I did this to show that the modern women should not be merely a doll-like lady -she should be strong. And because it's just prettier that way.
*Okobos are worn by geisha. They're a special type of geta.
*Since the challenge was to design a traditional kimono for the younger generation of Japanese, I didn't want to deviate too much from the traditional kimono, as it's the official traditional dress of the country -and the Japanese are still very traditional in respect to their heritage. Therefore, as Japan's still rather conservative, I decided that I didn't want to show too much skin. It's also why I didn't want any curves showing on my model, as the kimono emphasizes a very straight figure. I also wanted my kimono to be more stylized and simple. You know, the whole enchilada. Or should I say tako? Hahaha. Okay, bad joke. This is the sort of joke one finds funny when one is tired.
*The colors of my design are inspired by the artwork of Piet Mondrian, as his artwork came to mind when I thought of modern art. His lines also remind me of a traditional Japanese room.
*Of course, to be more modern, and to provide greater ease of dressing and movement to the younger generation, my kimono would be thinner, lack all the padding, and be more flowy. Not to mention have a shortened hakama.
*Yes, my model's wearing a wig. I actually thought about painting her white, but I think she looks fine like this. And would probably look scary and a sell-out if she got painted.
*Sorry for the long description!