The Kimono-Inspired Dress

The Kimono-Inspired Dress & Statement Sleeves Pattern, a new resource produced by Pattern Cutting Deconstructed in collaboration with the V&A.

The brief from Jo Jones, Senior Content Editor for Digital Media at the V&A was intriguing: create a downloadable pattern, based on the museum's Kimono: Kyoto to Catwalk summer 2020 exhibition, that comprised of a simply shaped garment with interesting sleeves.

Inspired by the traditional kimonos displayed in the exhibition, and other creative Japanese arts, Monisola set about realising the brief. “I love the wrap front fastening of the kimono and mimicked this by creating a faux-wrap front dress. The choice of dress lengths and four sleeve variations acknowledge the mercurial nature of the kimono. The sleeves draw from origami, the Japanese art of paper folding, introducing a sculpted element that contrasts with the fluidity of the dress”.

The new pattern is available as a free download and is now live on the V&A website.

 See my pattern testers modelling their Kimono-Inspired makes