Fashion and Race Database
Created in 2017 by Kimberly M. Jenkins, the Fashion and Race Database is an online platform of tools that expands the narrative of fashion history and challenges mis-representation within the fashion system.
The goal for the database is to amplify the voices of those who have been racialized (and thus marginalized) in fashion, illuminate under-examined histories and address racism throughout the fashion system. The platform also provides hands-on research and publishing opportunities to students, scholars and writers concerned and invested in dismantling racism and bringing critical stories to light.
Image: From The Ebony Fashion Fair, written by Treonna Turner. Ebony Fashion Fair founder and director Eunice Johnson (in pink) stands with models during the 33rd annual Fashion Fair in 1991.
The database is organised into six sections. The Library provides an ever-expanding selection of tools for learning about all matters connected to fashion, appearance and race, while Objects that matter features a number of fashion objects, images and collections that have been under-researched, as well as objects designed with brecist intent. The database of objects, from the Great Plains Feather Headress to the Kimono, are accompanied by brief histories written by contributors about the significance of the objects, as many of the items have been widely appropriated or referenced in the fashion industry. Likewise, the website also features many profiles of people who have shaped the history and business of fashion in the face of structural racism and adversity. There is also an essay and news section, a directory, and a calendar of events, conversations and opportunities. Read on for an extract of the Fashion and Race Database’s Objects that Matter entry on Kimono, written by Adriana Hill.
Image: Japan. Over Robe (Uchikake) with Long-Tailed Birds in a Landscape, Edo period (1615–1868). Silk and metallic-thread embroidery and stencil paste-resist dyeing on silk satin damask, 182.9 x 124.5 cm. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 59.46. CC-BY (Photo: Metropolitan Museum of Art).
The Kimono, which literally translates to “thing to wear” in English, is recognized worldwide as the national dress of Japan. It is a fashion that is often perceived as timeless and unchanging, reflecting an outsider’s judgment of Japanese values. However, this false notion denies the rich history of the Kimono which fosters identity, innovation and artistry.
The Kimono was given its modern name during the Meiji period (1868-1912) to distinguish local dress from Western clothing after a long period of enforced isolation. The precursor to the Kimono, a Kosode, was an undergarment worn beneath several layers of robes donned by aristocratic women during the Heian Period (794–1185). By the sixteenth century, the Kosode had evolved into a unisex outer garment worn by all social classes. During the Edo Period (1603-1868) innovations in Kosode design were encouraged and developed in order to create variations that would distinguish the wearer in a stratified society. Styling, fabric, symbolic motifs, pattern, and colour were all strategically used to work messages about the wearer into their clothing. Each garment could expertly reflect the wearer’s age, gender, marital status, and class. Sumptuary laws were even enacted from time to time to regulate Kosode design as garments grew to be extremely expressive and luxurious.
Image: Rumi Rock. Summer Kimono (yukata), 2018. Cotton with stencil-dyed decoration. Victoria and Albert Museum, FE.2-2019. CC-BY (Photo: Victoria and Albert Museum, London).
Today, developments such as yûzen paste-resist dyeing and digital fabric printing allow for even more customization of the Kimono. The Obi alone, a sash used to secure the Kimono in place, has more than 100 tying variations, each with their own significance. Men’s Kimono are typically more restrained in style and utilize darker neutral colours. Although the Kimono is less frequently worn today, the dress practice has come to represent a form of art and design. Additionally, Japan encourages foreigners to explore the dress practice of Kimono so long as it is done with appreciation, dignity and respect.
Read the rest of the entry, including examples of appropriation and influence of the Kimono here.
Visit the Fashion and Race Database website here.