UZ Fabric passes on kimono culture to the next generation by upcycling

Kimono is a traditional Japanese garment. However, its culture has rapidly faded in the last few decades. Today, very few Japanese wear kimonos in daily life.

UZ Fabric shines a light on kimonos and upcycles them with a modern sensibility. Using second-hand kimonos as raw materials, they create fashionable items you can wear in everyday life, such as dresses, stoles, bags, and room shoes. Since they are not a simple remake of a kimono, you may not realize that the products are made from kimono at first glance. New life is breathed into the kimono’s fabric, giving it a new charm.

Though UZ Co. Ltd operates UZ Fabric, its main business is actually website production, so why did they start upcycling kimonos? We interviewed Yuko Koterazawa, the representative and the designer.

Hope to save kimonos thrown away

“Originally, I had very little connection with kimono,” said Koterazawa. She happened to be involved in an event where people sought new owners for kimono. Then, she learned about the charms of the kimono and that some kimonos were destined to be thrown away, even though their fabric was nice. “My employee was holding the event. At the wonderful event, people brought the old kimonos that they had stopped wearing but had been treasuring and sold to those who really liked the kimonos. So, we started to support the event as a company. Through the event, I learned that kimono wasn’t just the gorgeous ones worn at coming-of-age ceremonies and ‘Shichi-go-san,’ a traditional event to celebrate children’s growth. I learned that there were a wide variety of designs and fabrics and a range of fashionable kimonos.”

“However, some kimonos could not find new owners because they had stains that would never come off or were too small to wear. They would eventually be discarded even though their patterns were beautiful. I wanted to save them.” That was one of the reasons why she started upcycling kimonos.

She was also frustrated that you couldn’t wear kimono often if you couldn’t put it on yourself. Therefore, she came up with the idea of transforming the kimono so anyone could wear it. “I thought it would be fun if you could casually wear kimono with a wide variety of designs and fabrics. Then, we made a dress from a formal kimono, ‘Tomesode,’ and a stole by sewing together from kimono fabric.”

Dared to challenge because they were amateurs

Using second-hand kimono as a raw material increased the number of processes. Therefore, UZ Fabric faced many unexpected difficulties. “There is the process of taking the kimono apart and washing it. At first, I assumed we could do them by ourselves. But, it took me all night to dismantle one kimono. That’s why we asked professionals to untie and wash them. I struggled with the fact that handling kimonos require different processes than general used clothes.”

There was also the problem that the condition of each piece of fabric was completely different because it was an old one. “Even if we sew the same shape of the fabric in the same way, sometimes it goes well, and sometimes it goes wrong. We made improvements each time while consulting with the factory.”

Koterazawa said such trial and error was possible because apparel and manufacturing were not their main business. “Because I did not have the knowledge, I feel free to wonder, ‘Isn’t it possible to do something like this?’ And then, we look for a way to realize the idea and a contractor who will cooperate with us. Of course, some contractors have refused cooperation, but others found it interesting. Thanks to their cooperation, we could give shape to our ideas little by little.

“If you have experience, you may quickly judge ‘this is impossible’ or ‘it is useless to do this.’ Because we had neither experience nor knowledge of manufacturing, we could do things that general people would not do.”

Pushing the use of fabric to the limit

UZ Fabric is trying to “use up” the kimono’s fabric as much as possible and are making products using remnants. “For example, the collar of a kimono is thin, so it cannot be used as a stole or a bag. I combined these remnants to make room shoes.”

Inspired by items she found on her trip to Morocco, she has created rugs using fine scraps as well as damaged and dirty scraps. “In Morocco, there are rugs made by cutting and patching old clothes for everyday use. It was so nice that I wanted to make a rug out of kimono scraps. Because it was difficult to start producing it in Morocco quickly, I sent kimono scraps to a factory in India and asked to make a rug. They created a unique and attractive rug that is different from the Japanese aesthetic. It was a fusion of traditional Japanese culture, kimono, and another culture.”

UZ Fabric is currently experimenting with upcycling kimono fabrics, which are vulnerable to water, into highly water-resistant materials. “Most kimono fabric is silk, which is generally difficult to wash. We need to improve the water-resistance of the fabric to make it easy to use, and we are trying to sandwich the kimono fabric with vinyl material.” These fabric improvements resulted in a notebook computer case that uses kimono fabric.

Building a kimono culture that will last a 100 years through modern interpretation

Koterazawa senses a danger. “If we just protect the culture as it is, it will disappear. Japanese people had been wearing kimonos for a longer time than western style cloth, but its culture has quickly shrunk in modernization. If we don’t change the traditional culture into a style that suits the current times, it will disappear sooner or later.”

“Of course, it is also important to carry on the tradition as it is. But what I can do is to add arrangements to it and reconstruct it into a wonderful form in the modern sense. We develop the kimono culture, which shrinks if left as it is, in a different way. I believe that the wonderful designs and patterns of the kimono will survive for the next 100 years through this repeated process. I want to deliver beautiful kimono fabrics and designs to the future, so I hope that even one piece of kimono will remain for 100 years from now, rather than being discarded.”

Koterazawa is currently focusing on artistic expression using kimono, created in collaboration with artists and brands. “I don’t just want to create things, but I want to create artistic expressions that move people’s hearts with the appeal of kimono, just like what you see at exhibitions and galleries. I hope that the hearts of those who see or wear our product will move, even just a little. Anything is fine, such as ‘it’s cool,’ ‘it’s cute,’ or ‘the pattern is interesting.'”

Editor’s note

All UZ Fabric products are one-of-a-kind. It was impressive that Koterazawa said, “I want you to enjoy a once-in-a-lifetime encounter with a unique existence.” Even if they want to make a product again, they can’t make the same one because they won’t be able to find the same kimono again. In a world of mass production, we tend to forget the preciousness of things. UZ Fabric reminds us of such important values.

Their products are modern and very stylish. You feel that you want to wear it because it’s cool instead of because it’s an upcycled kimono. When you touch the product, you will be surprised by the comfortable touch of a kimono. Koterazawa aims for “ethical consumption that follows after liking (the product).” UZ Fabric’s ideal is not to invite purchases because it’s ethical, but because it’s nice, then let the subsequent realization that it’s made from a reused material take over. UZ Fabric is a good opportunity to discover the charms of kimono.

If you would like to see UZ Fabric products, come to MoFF 2022!

The exhibition curated by Zenbird and Lifehugger will be held in “MoFF 2022” at TRUNK HOTEL in Shibuya on Friday, Sept. 9. We will introduce UZ Fabric at the exhibition. Please join us at MoFF 2022 to check out their product line.

Here is the link of MoFF 2022.

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