PORTFOLIO

In Cooperation with AVRO Netherlands and Parthenon Entertainment (GB)
It is a magic spell cast with silken threads. A body length, splendidly colored, one-piece garment covered with embroidery. A traditional, handmade kimono, together with all of its corresponding undergarments, may weigh as much as 20 kg, and can cost up to 20,000 Euros. Geishas continue to wear them with dignity, and 95 % of Japanese women in larger cities still marry wearing kimonos. In fact, however, most Japanese kimonos created by hobbyists or exponents of the traditional arts are far less elaborate and expensive. They are made of cotton or polyester, are industrially manufactured, easy to slip on, with either modest or plunging décolleté. During the 20th century, when Japan became a leading economy, the nation suppressed its ancient traditions, looking forwards and becoming faster and more efficient. The kimono was set aside as fashionable western attire gained the ascendancy. Beginning with the Asian financial crisis of the 1990s, the kimono has made a comeback. Modern and ancient traditions have become intimately associated. This relationship seems to be the secret of Japan's success: an ambivalence that actually functions, one well illustrated by the popularity of the contemporary kimono. This documentary displays the kimono in all of its facets: from the manufacturing process of the genuine handmade silk kimono, to the everyday life of the geishas that wear them, and all the way to the contemporary “excesses† of the kimono on international runways and in fashionable clubs.

Weltweiter Vertrieb: sky/Vision 
Großbritannien
,
London
: skyvision.sky.com