Matter Prints The Issue of Exploitation and Appropriation of Artisan Textiles

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Get To Know: The Missing Piece

A year ago we launched a limited edition of dresses made in collaboration with The Missing Piece and it sold out before we could put the items online. Many of you have wrote in asking us to continue the dresses. We heard you and so this time around, we decided to bring them online first. […]

Untangling the Threads of the Kimono: Japan’s Colonial History & Cultural Reparations in Fashion

Content Warning: Colonialism, “Comfort Women,” war crimes, reparations. “Comfort women” will be placed inside quotation marks to emphasize that this was a euphemistic term created by the Japanese Imperial Army to downplay the human sexual trafficking and abuse that they were engaged in. For many Japanese heritage people around the world, our kimono, yukata, and […]

Honoring Culture & The Slippery Slope: Lessons From #KimOhNo for the Sustainable Fashion Industry

It typically goes something like this when I reach out to a sustainable and ethical fashion brand asking them to change the name of a kimono garment that does not resemble a kimono: Would you please consider changing the name of your kimono item to something else? This piece is not a kimono and the […]

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cultural appreciation
cultural appropriation
ethical fashion
haori
kimono

The Cultural Appropriation of the Kimono in Fashion

3 days before the launch of our newest style: The Slit-Back Maxi, we came across an article written by Emi Ito on the cultural appropriation of the traditional Kimono garment. It was educational, vulnerable, and a part of an important conversation. Beyond that, it was an invitation for brands to respond mindfully. Going over Emi […]

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an inside look
cultural appreciation
cultural appropriation
haori
kimono
kimono jacket
reversible kimono jacket

Ethnic Print & Tribal Print: Why We Should Stop Using These Terms

We often get emails or messages asking us about the history of the prints we use: if they’re a tribal print or ethnic print, what the meaning is behind them, and the context of their cultural significance. As a brand that works with a curative philosophy inspired by tradition, we source heritage prints and styles while reinterpreting […]