Shortlisted for the American Textile Society R.L. Shep Award

The kimono is the ultimate symbol of Japan, revered within the country as the embodiment of national culture and regarded internationally as an exotic fascination. The iconic garment is often viewed as traditional, unchanging and timeless, but this book counters that conception, presenting the kimono as highly dynamic and fashionable dress. The cultural and sartorial significance of the kimono is explored in historical and contemporary contexts, both in Japan and the West, where its impact on clothing styles has been felt since the seventeenth century. Beautifully illustrated, the book features over 250 kimono and kimono-inspired garments from the V&A and collections around the world, revealing its sartorial influence on pop stars from David Bowie to Björk and examining the ways in which fashion designers such as Issey Miyake, John Galliano and Alexander McQueen have reworked its legacy.

About the Author:

Anna Jackson is the Keeper of the Asian Department at the V&A.

A unique insight into Japanese dress from the 18th century to today, explored through sumptuous detail photography of some of the most fascinating pieces in the V&A’s collections

Bringing together more than 100 items of clothing, this book reveals the intricacies of Japanese dress from the 18th century to the present. Including garments for women, men and children, the details have been selected both for their exquisite beauty and craftsmanship and for how much they impart about the wearer’s identity, be it age, status or taste.

A comprehensive introduction, illuminating the main periods and key themes of Japanese fashion history, is followed by thematic chapters that cover all aspects of clothing, from hair accessories and necklines to hemlines and shoes. Each garment or object is accompanied by a short text exploring its structure and the fascinating range of decorative techniques employed, including embroidery, weaving, lacquering, stencilling, dyeing and digital technology. Specially commissioned detail photography and line drawings provide an invaluable resource for Japanophiles, students, collectors, designers and lovers of fashion and world dress.

Contents List:

Introduction • Necklines and Shoulders • Headwear • Sleeves • Waists • Waist Accessories • Hems • Lining and Undergarments • Footwear • Further Reading • Glossary • Picture Credits • Acknowledgments • Index

About the Authors:

Josephine Rout is a Project Curator in the Asian Department at the Victoria and Albert Museum. 
Anna Jackson is Keeper of the Asian Department at the Victoria and Albert Museum.

An exclusive insight into glamour of Edo–period society through the medium of 140 exquisite ukiyo-e

This sumptuous book explores the important role that woodblock prints played in the fashionable world of Edo–period Japan (1603–1868). One hundred and forty ukiyo-e (“pictures of the floating world”) offer us a vivid view of the culture of entertainment, style, and glamour that developed in bustling urban centers. Expert curators bring to life the scenes and figures depicted, and highlight the fashions, dress accessories, and hairstyles shown in these colorful and compelling images by artists such as Utagawa Kunisada and Utagawa Hiroshige.

Benefitting from the V&A’s world-leading collection and including many rarely seen prints, this is a fascinating glimpse into an exciting world of celebrity actors, courtesans, kimono retailers, fabric workshops, makeup brands, theatre managers, brothel keepers, and restaurant owners.

About the Authors:

Anna Jackson is Keeper, Asia Department at the V&A. Masami Yamada is Curator, Asia Department at the V&A

A lavish survey of the Khalili Collection’s world-renowned holdings of traditional Japanese kimono, from the Edo period to the 20th century.

The Khalili Collection of kimonos comprises over 200 garments spanning 300 years of Japanese textile artistry. The form of the T-shaped, straight-seamed, front-wrapping kimono has changed very little over the centuries, yet the collection reveals an astonishing variety of designs. The garments presented here convey the remarkable creativity of designers who produced works of art that would enfold the wearer. The enormous range of patterns were executed in a complex combination of techniques, with some garments requiring the expert skills of a number of different artisans.

The Khalili Collection includes formal, semi-formal and informal kimono, underkimono and jackets, worn by women, men and children. Represented are the sophisticated garments of the samurai elite and the affluent merchant classes of the Edo period (1603– 1868), the shifting styles and new colour palette of Meiji-period dress (1868–1912) and particularly the bold and dazzling kimono of the Taisho- (1912–26) and early Sho-wa (1926–89) eras, which utilized innovative techniques and drew fresh inspiration from both past traditions and the modern world.

Here, an international team of authors examine the art and evolution of the kimono in the historical context of the 17th to the 20th centuries, under the editorship of Anna Jackson, Keeper of the Asian Department at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

Contents List:

Introduction • I. Edo (1603–1868) • II. Meiji (1868–1912) • III. Taisho/Showa (1912–1989)

About the Author:

Anna Jackson is Keeper of the Asian department at the Victoria and Albert Museum, and Honorary Curator of the Khalili Collection.

This box set contains the next four titles in the popular V&A series of patterns books. Beautifully designed, accessible and informative, the box set is a respository of ideas for designers of all kinds but also a collectable object in itself. Commercial designers looking to license patterns canuse these books as a starting point for research.

Each book includes a CD of all the images contained within - to be redrawn or reworked.

The new titles for Spring 2010 contained in this box set are Owen Jones, Novelty Patterns, Kimonos and Secret Garden. Carefully branded to draw on the V&A's pre-eminent status, the series will encourage you to collect the entire range. The V&A is the world's greatest museum of art and design. For the past 150 years its collection has been an inspiring resource for designers, reflecting a breadth and depth that represents over 3,000 years of artefacts from all over the world.

'Beautiful and practical, the books are visual summaries of the most sumptuous parts of the V&A collections' Royal Academy Magazine

This attractive series reveals the V&A's spectacular and extensive pattern collections. Each title in the series includes a free CD of high resolution images.

This collector's slipcase edition contains four titles in the series - Owen Jones, Novelty Patterns, Kimono and Garden Florals.

The word 'maharaja' - literally 'great king' - conjures up a vision of splendour and magnificence. This lavishly illustrated book examines the real and perceived worlds of the maharaja from the early eigheenth century to 1947 when the Indian Princes ceded their territories into the modern states of India and Pakistan.

Jackson and Jaffer explore the spectacular material culture of India's rulers, showcasing rich and varied objects that reflect different aspects of royal life. Indian and Western works from a wide range of media, including paintings, photographs, textiles and dress, jewellery and jewelled objects, metalwork and furniture, are considered within a broader historical context, exploring royal status and identity, court culture and patronage.