Designer’s Voice · From designer · kimono · Outer · Vintage · Jan 25, 2024

Difference between vintage haori and KUDEN clothes

This is Tak, the designer.
Thank you very much for always loving KUDEN clothes and for supporting my dream of "employment for the people with disabilities" where I will work with my son in the future. 
This time, I would like to introduce you to KUDEN's ethical approach of vintage haori.

＜Point＞
1- Why we deal in Vintage Haori & Kimono?
"To bring you the traditional fashion that is not disposable."

2 - Difference between Vintage Haori and KUDEN's Samurai Mode Jacket
"KUDEN's clothes are made by extracting the beauty and quality of Kimono and reproducing them in today's clothes."

1- Why we deal in Vintage Haori & Kimono?
"To bring you the traditional fashion that is not disposable."

Traditional Japanese Kimono culture is in danger of decline.
Kimono, which has long been the everyday wear of the Japanese people, has been transformed by the spread of Western culture from a daily wear to a dress for special occasions.

The reasons for this are, of course, the busy lifestyles of today and the warming of the climate.
Kimono requires a special technique called “Kitsuke" in order to wear it.
It requires many techniques that are not used in modern clothing, such as how to wear the collar and other parts of the garment without losing shape and how to tighten the obi.
In the days when kimonos were worn as daily wear, these techniques were taken for granted, so people learned them by wearing kimonos every day since they were small children.

Also, the way to wear kimono on special occasions is different from the way to wear kimono when working or living.
In the olden days, people enjoyed wearing kimonos in their daily lives by freely arranging them in ways that made them easier to move around.

Today, for the reasons mentioned above, Kimono has become something to be worn only on special occasions.
People in the industry of kimono stores, a type of store that deals in Kimono.
Sales declined as people stopped wearing kimonos in their daily lives.
To make up for this, the price of Kimono for special days was raised rapidly.
The cost of producing kimonos has skyrocketed because fewer kimonos are being produced, and kimonos have become more expensive and inaccessible to the general public, making them more suitable for wearing only on special occasions.
As a result, even Japanese people have lost the opportunity to learn how to wear kimonos, and the number of people who have never worn kimonos has been increasing.

Kimono is not made in the same way as Western clothing, in which a pattern is made to fit the wearer's body.
There is only one universal "design" and the rest is tailored to fit the wearer's body shape by adjusting the embellishments, length, and other details.

Kimonos are not made to fit the body perfectly, but are fine-tuned by "Kitsuke".
 Therefore, Kimono can be re-tailored as the child grows up by adjusting the length and the embroidery, and can be handed down from parent to child.
Clothes are not thrown away, but can be worn with care by parents and children from generation to generation.
This is the wonderful culture of Kimono.

KUDEN is carrying out this activity in the belief that we can protect the environment and culture by delivering kimonos and haori that are no longer worn to people around the world who love kimonos, and by carefully passing them on to others who will continue to wear them.

KUDEN regards not only the creation of new products, but also "not disposing of existing clothes and materials, but continuing to use them for a long time while appreciating their creators and the environment" as an important approach to sustainability.

▼Story of a person's treasured Kimono that travels across a faraway sea.

2 - Difference between Vintage Haori and KUDEN's Samurai Mode Jacket
"KUDEN's clothes are made by extracting the beauty and quality of Kimono and reproducing them in today's clothes."

Here are the differences between KUDEN's Samurai Mode Jacket and my other originally designed clothes and vintage haori.

Vintage haori and kimonos convey to the present the various techniques developed by our pioneers. 
Kimono fabrics vary from silk to linen, depending on the place, season, and style of the wearer.
In addition to fabrics, Kimono can be decorated with family crests (the more family crests, the more prestigious it is), dyed, embroidered, and various other designs.

Kimono is representative of the long-life design that KUDEN aims for.

Although all kimonos have the same shape, i.e., one design, the variations are endless, depending on the pattern, color, and the way it is worn.

Even today, the form has not changed. Therefore, it is still loved by many people without looking old fashioned. Unlike the Kimono, the Haori in particular does not require dressing, so you can easily incorporate the "Kimono Style" into your fashion by simply wearing it like a jacket. 

	Vintage Kimono & Haori	Samurai Mode Jacket Series
Sense of size	● Size is generally small. In the past, many Japanese were smaller than today's Japanese, and only small sizes existed in the vintage market. It is possible to make them new and bigger, but it is expensive.  ●There are only a few men's items.	●Unisex and available in a wide range of sizes from XS to XL (depending on the item)
How to care	●Difficult to care for  There is no way to check the materials used for vintage kimonos (there are no quality labels, etc., because they were made in the olden days). Care methods vary depending on the type of Kimono, such as silk, linen, embroidery, etc. Basically, it is necessary to use a cleaning service for Kimono.	●Easy to care Samurai Mode Jacket Standard (dry cleaning recommended) Samurai Mode Jacket Eco (hand washable at home) are also available.
Feel when wearing	●Comfort varies depending on the fabric of the vintage haori.  ●The design from the shoulders to the arms is straight and tubular, which makes the shoulder area look fat. This is due to the old Japanese sense of beauty that a well-dressed person (good physique) = wealthy, and that it is a good thing to look big. ( there are various theories )	●Style of design for a sleek look The pattern is designed so that the shoulders fall, giving a sleeker look around the shoulders than Kimono or Haori. The embroideries for both men and women feature a design called Miyatsu-guchi, which allows air to pass through, resulting in lightness, ease of movement, and coolness.
How to wear	●Vintage kimono needs Kitsuke, Special Techniques to wear  ●Vintage haori doesn't need special techniques	●They don't need special techniques
Recommendations	●It can be glamorous, chic, or unique, and can be clothed in various traditions such as embroidery and dyeing.	●Comfortable to wear in everyday life, functional with pockets and other features, and relatively easy to care for Sharp Japanese modern style as a modern-day Kinomo

It would be sad for both the kimono and haori to be discarded without their existence being known, and for you who admire kimonos.

Please find your favorite one like a treasure hunt.
Vintage haori come in various sizes and patterns, and all are one-of-a-kind. Find your favorite one among them and draw your KIMONO STORY.

If you are not sure what to wear with a vintage haori , try a KUDEN shirt or KUDEN jacket.
For bottoms, you can wear your usual pants or skirts. It will be a fun kimono style coordinate that you can easily use on a daily basis.

 I also enjoy Kimono Style in my daily life as if it were my trademark.
Only at KUDEN can you enjoy both traditional and innovative kimono styles.
Please create your own unique style.

Designer Tak

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