Color Story: Kimono with Birds in Flight
This is the first of many color stories relating to a work of art at my favorite local museum - the Metropolitan Museum of Art, here in New York. They have a boundless treasure trove of exquisitely photographed works available online, which I will need to discuss in a future post!
The work featured here is a beautifully detailed kimono of silk chirimen crepe (one of the most traditional fabrics for making kimonos) from the Shōwa period (1926–89). It was made in 1942 as a wedding garment. Not only does this piece stimulate my love of color, it also speaks to my love of fabric and Japanese artistic styling; my personal wardrobe includes a couple of my own kimonos.
On a more reflective note, this kimono was made and worn for the celebration of marriage during a time of historic strife for Japan, in the midst of Word War II. It echos the extraordinary place of pride that such historic and traditional garments held in Japanese society.
