The Khalili Collection of Kimono is a private collection of more than 450 Japanese kimono assembled by the British scholar, collector and philanthropist Nasser D. Khalili. It is one of eight collections assembled, published and exhibited by Khalili, each of which is considered to be among the most important collections within their respective fields.
The Khalili Collection of Kimono includes formal, semi-formal, and informal kimono made for men, women, and children, illustrating the evolution of the kimono through cut, construction, materials, and decorative techniques from the 17th through the 20th centuries, with kimono representing the Edo period, the Meiji period, the Taishō period, and the Shōwa period. The kimono within the collection are not on permanent display, but are periodically lent or donated in part to cultural institutions; including the Kremlin Museums in Moscow and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Khalili, who also owns a collection of Meiji-era Japanese art, describes kimono as "one of the wonders of the world." He started the kimono collection with the aim of collecting and cataloguing cultural works that were not already actively being collected.
Kimono
"Kimono" literally means "thing to wear on the shoulders", and originally referred to clothing in general rather than a specific garment. Clothing similar to the kimono was first introduced to Japan in the 7th century through frequent interaction between Japan and mainland China. The exchange of envoys between the two countries led to the Japanese Imperial Court adopting Chinese culture, including, among others, clothing, which consisted of wrapped-front garments with long sleeves of both a closed-neck and open-neck nature. The halting of envoy missions in the Heian period led to the stronger independent development of Japanese culture, including the further development of clothing into the kimono-like garment known as the . Over time, the became the predominant garment within Japan, developing from the Azuchi-Momoyama period onwards into the garment known as the kimono today.
Kimono are made from long, thin bolts of cloth known as , are sewn with mostly straight seams, and are held together by small ties known as and an belt.Iwao, Nagasaki "Clad in the aesthetics of tradition: from kosode to kimono" in While Western clothing styles emphasise the body of the wearer, kimono have a distinctive T-shape which conceals more of the wearer's body, but provides, on the back and along the hem, a large area for decoration with patterns or motifs.Iwao, Nagasaki "Clad in the aesthetics of tradition: from kosode to kimono" in Kimono are commonly decorated with motifs of either seasonal, cultural or religious significance, with some auspicious groupings of motifs — such as the Three Friends of Winter — being commonly seen on kimono worn to formal events such as weddings. Motifs may also refer to folklore, classical literature or popular culture, and sometimes include visual puns. Kimono differ slightly in construction for men, women and children, and the choice of fabric, colour and decorative techniques can signify the wearer's age, gender, formality of occasion and — less commonly — marital status. Variations of fabric type, weight and lining exist for different seasons, with unlined and sometimes sheer kimono being worn in the summer.
Contrary to popular belief, the variation and experimentation visible in the history of kimono shows that kimono were - and remain to this day - a fashion system and industry, with its own rapidly-changing popular styles and trends, whereas this used to be thought of as a Western phenomenon.
The different forms of kimono represented in the Khalili Collection include the ("swinging sleeve"; a formal kimono for young women), the ("short sleeve"; the term used for all forms of short-sleeved garments before the usage of the word "kimono") and the (a formal outer kimono worn unbelted, typically by brides to weddings).
Edo period (1603–1868) The Collection includes kimono and related garments from the Edo period, which saw a rise in a wide variety of designs and decorative techniques, particularly on kimono designed for women. Though the main consumers of expensive and highly-decorated kimono at the beginning of the Edo period were the military class, who used lavish clothing and other luxurious to signify their place in the social hierarchy, the rise of the wealthy merchant classes throughout the rest of the Edo period fuelled lower-class demand for increasingly elaborate clothing. This included the development of sophisticated methods of weaving, dyeing, and embroidery, with women in particular adopting brighter and bolder designs in their clothing; in previous eras, both men's and women's kimono had been relatively similar in appearance. Though everyday kimono would have been woven and sewn by women at home, the most elaborate examples of kimono produced within this time period were designed and created by specialist craftsmen and artists who were typically men.
Garments outside of the samurai classes within the collection feature rich decoration from the waist-down only, with family crests on the neck and shoulders, a style known as . These were worn by women of the merchant class, who in later years dressed in kimono more subdued than those of the samurai, despite following the same colour trends and naturalistic designs; with the introduction of dress edicts designed to oppress the merchant and socially-lower classes throughout the Edo period, an aesthetic style known as developed, emphasising subdued displays of luxury and wealth over the obvious presentation of money shown through the clothing worn by the samurai classes. Red became a popular colour for merchant-class women, partly because of its cultural association with youth and passion, and partly for its expensive dye, derived from the safflower; a bright red garment would have been an ostentatious display of wealth, examples of which are found throughout the collection. Worn by less wealthy merchants, lower down the social scale, are kimono made of cotton or ramie and dyed with indigo dye, with less dense designs but still a variety of dyes, patterns and techniques.
As well as merchant-class pieces, the Collection also includes examples of formal samurai women's kimono; despite the militant connection, these are patterned with flowers, geometric patterns, or motifs such as clouds or waves. However, some examples within the collection do display the military status of the samurai, seen by way of example on a bright red kimono illustrated with war fans. Samurai men typically dressed with a more understated style, exemplified by items in the collection featuring geometric designs concentrated around the waist.
Another kind of kimono specific to the military elite was the , or "palace court style", which would be worn in the residence of a military leader (a or ). These kimono - also featured in the collection - featured landscape scenes, commonly accompanied by motifs referencing classical literature, and symbolism referencing stories made popular amongst the upper classes through Noh plays.
The collection also features some examples of , or sleeping kimono, known to have been owned by samurai families; a type of thickly-wadded, wearable bedding, samurai featured elaborate designs in garments made of silk in contrast to the typically simple and almost-entirely cotton examples used by the lower classes.
Examples of Japanese garments created during this time period using imported Indian fabrics are also found in the collection. Indian fabrics, brought to Japan by Dutch importers, were received with enthusiasm and found many uses; the collection includes a flamboyant under-kimono for a man made by combining these finely-patterned fabrics with plain-weave silk and cotton. Other items show that Japanese designers started printing designs influenced by the Indian patterns independently, and that fabrics imported from France or Britain were also used to make kimono; ownership of these textiles would have signified both wealth and cultural taste, though the example found in the collection of a kimono using these fabrics is an undergarment, where the fabric would not have been seen once worn.
Meiji period (1868–1912) Kimono from the Meiji period are also represented in the Collection. The Meiji period was defined by its drive towards both Westernisation and industrialisation, kickstarted by Japan opening its borders to the world in the 1860s,Guth, Christine M. E. "The Meiji era: the ambiguities of modernization" in and this saw the rapid import of Western culture, clothing and technologies, including the introduction of synthetic dyestuffs to Japan; the first synthetic dye, mauveine, had been invented in the previous decade.
Japan's newly-opened border also saw the export of Japanese culture to the West, where the kimono became an object of fascination. The Japanese textile industry rapidly Westernised in the face of foreign weaving technologies, and silk from Tokyo's factories became the principle export of Japan.
With the introduction of cheaper and faster manufacture, more people could now afford silk kimono, and designers were able to create new patterns using the new methods of production. However, Emperor Meiji issued a proclamation promoting Western dress over the allegedly effeminate Japanese dress, leading to the introduction of Western-style clothing within the public sphere, with some men typically adopting Western dress in the workplace (despite both women and men continuing to wear the kimono within the home) and most women continuing to wear the kimono in everyday life. Despite the introduction of Western dress, the kimono did not quickly fossilise as an object of tradition worn out of obligation by women and those unable to afford Western clothing; advertisements within Japan up until the 1940s display both the kimono and Western dress as items of fashionable wear, suggesting a more parallel evolution of the two within the Japanese wardrobe as equal, if differing, items of clothing.
Cheaper synthetic dyes in the following decades meant that both purples and red - previously restricted to the wealthy elite - could now be owned by anyone, though they retained their symbolic importance of representing wealth and power. These kimono are represented in the Collection, illustrating the evolution of Meiji period trends from subtle, grey-toned colours to a shift towards brighter and more vibrant designs at the end of the period.
Kimono also began to incorporate a number of Western motifs; a number featured in the Collection have a plain, bold colour, and feature an elaborate design around the hem, a common feature on Meiji period clothing; several have subtle colour gradients from the top to the bottom of the garment, a technique achieved through the dyeing technologies of the time. Another trend represented in the collection is both outer and inner garments of the same design, though this technique was usually reserved for those who could afford both brand-new kimono and undergarments of the same design to be commissioned at once.