Evolving ensembles: Tracing Kimono Fashion Trends Through Images from the National Gallery of Victoria

Join Dr Jenny Hall for this Inagaki Seminar series event online as they explore the topic of "Evolving ensembles: Tracing Kimono Fashion Trends Through Images from the National Gallery of Victoria".

This event is delivered in partnership with the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies (TUFS) Global Japan Office.

About Inagaki Seminar #47

In contemporary Japan women’s kimono is worn according to a strict set of protocols which often serves to inhibit prospective wearers. These conventions were formalised in the postwar era and promulgated by kitsuke dressing schools and the kimono industry itself which, with decline in demand, promoted expensive formal kimono over more casual forms of the garment. However, this mode of wearing kimono was not followed in previous eras, and the kimono ensemble was less codified and more relaxed. Through visual analysis of Japanese woodblock prints and early photographs from the National Gallery of Victoria this presentation looks at how the kimono ensemble has changed significantly through time and challenges the ‘invented traditions’ of kimono wear.

About the speakers

Jenny Hall PhD is a Teaching Associate of Art History in the School of Culture and Communication at the University of Melbourne. Her research is situated at the intersection of, Japanese Studies, Art History, Fashion and Design Studies, Cultural Heritage Studies and Anthropology. Her recent publications include: Japan Beyond the Kimono: Tradition and Innovation in the Kyoto Textile Industry (Bloomsbury Academic, 2020); ‘When the Looms Stop, the Baby Cries: The Changing Sounds of the Kyoto Kimono-Making Industry’ (Asian Sound Cultures, Routledge, 2022) and ‘Kim Kardashian’s “Kimono”: The Complexities of Cultural Appropriation’ (Kardashians: A Critical Anthology, Routledge, 2024).

Facilitator of this Inagaki Seminar on Japan

Professor Ikuko Nakane, Professor in Japanese, Asia Institute and Associate Dean Diversity & Inclusion, Faculty of Arts, University of Melbourne

About the Inagaki Seminar on Japan Series

This seminar series is named after Mr Senkichi 'Moshi' Inagaki, the pioneer of Japanese language instruction at the University of Melbourne, Australia.

Moshi Inagaki arrived in Australia from Japan in 1897 and commenced teaching of Japanese language at the University of Melbourne in 1919.

Launched in 2017, the Inagaki Seminar on Japan features talks from expert speakers on current topics on Japan within the areas of society, politics, language, and culture, as well as on the Australia-Japan relationship.

Today, the Inagaki Seminar continues to provide updated knowledge on Japan to Japan-interested audiences. Learn about past and upcoming Inagaki Seminars on Japan

Event Format

This event is an online only event delivered via Zoom.

Please register to receive the Zoom details and a reminder email will be sent immediately prior to the online event.

Contact and Accessibility

If you have specific requirements, please don't hesitate to contact us.

For inquiries, please contact Simon Bian at sbian@unimelb.edu.au

Image credit

Archival photo for Moshi Inagaki

Kimono girls phoot (cropped for size) by Azimbek Assarov on Unsplash

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