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The story of the Yao Mun kimono:
a cross-cultural exchange surrounding traditional dress and local textiles
ヤオ・ムンの布できものをつくる－伝統衣装とテキスタイルがつなぐ異文化交流
Kimono, a traditional ethnic outfit worn by people in Japan, has historically been mainly made with silk or cotton cloth woven by Japanese artisans. People often imagine the Kimono as a very extravagant piece of clothing, covered in embroidery, patterns and different colors, made of silk and worn by the wealthy or for special occasions. The reality is that it was often an every-day piece of clothing, made from simple comfortable fabrics.
For this personal project I facilitated the cross-cultural creation of a kimono using the cotton cloth woven by the Yao Mun (Lanten) artisans from northern Laos.
Yao Mun people living in Luang Namtha province cultivate cotton and indigo plants to produce hand-spun, hand-woven and indigo-dyed cotton cloth which is used to create self-sustaining clothing and bedding.
In 2018 I had the opportunity to visit the Yao Mun villages to observe their local skills related to cotton making, and also purchase rolls of cotton cloth, because I was attracted to the unique texture and exceptional beauty of blue colors.
After I went back to Kyoto, coincidentally I realized the width of a roll of Yao Mun cotton cloth was almost the same as the standard width of a roll of kimono cloth. Thanks to the chance encounter and insight from Mr. Yusuke Ishihara, a kimono shop owner (石原裕介、石原呉服店).
This led me to entrust the Yao Mun cotton cloth produced at Nam Lue and Nam Dee Villages to the young students who were training to be kimono sewists at the Ohhara Wafuku Senmon-gakuen professional training college (大原和服専門学園), in Nara prefecture, Japan.
Before the students cut the cloth, they had to carefully arrange the cloth to plan out the panels for the front, back, sleeves, and collars. As with only two rolls of cloth there was just enough for the length, they were two different tones of cloth. The students really enjoyed the difference in blue tone – at first they tried having the kimono half and half, but finally they enjoyed arranging with the difference and mixed the pieces together.
With their cooperation, finally the Yao Mun kimono was completed with traditional hand-sewn “wasai (和裁)” techniques that have been passed down in japan. The straight line cutting structure of the kimono fits perfectly to the Yao Mun cotton cloth and highlights the power of quality fabric.
On that occasion, I had a talk with the students on Yao Mun textile culture and how they sew and embroider, by bringing examples of sewing outfits and products to show them. The students very carefully checked the way of Yao Mun sewing to see that Yao Mun and kimono styles of sewing are both very different but very detailed.
Even though they did not meet directly in person, they met through the outfit and textiles, through the creation of this kimono. So in this way, the Japanese young traditional sewists could understand and exchange with Yao Mun traditions.
