We redesigned the Japanese traditional costume “Kimono”, with a harmony of latest technology and delicate handcraft. From long ago, the Japanese have enjoyed the subtle differences in rain and given hundreds of names to each type of rain. We recreated characteristics of each rain through actual water droplets on kimono fabric.

We captured rain data into 2D graphics and visualized them on 3D acrylic boards. After carving the patterns on acrylic plate with laser cutter, thousands of water droplets were put on the tiny grooves by our hands. We photographed and print them gently. Finally the patterns were finished onto very traditional kimono cuts of fabric. They look both traditional and somehow futuristic.

-The agency not only crafted the Kimonos but also sold them by themselves at kimono stores.

-The client sold the Kimono at their 10 department stores in Japan's biggest cities.

-Our posters appeared around the stores as OOH and POP that guided users to the floor/store.

-The kimono was sold for 550 US dollars a piece. Total sales exceeded amount of 10000 US dollars in the first month. It was unprecedented speed of sales for traditional costuming.

-It went viral through Instagram so that orders came from the country side to the shop in Tokyo.

Our mission was to pay heed to the wealth and depth of traditional Japanese culture, while also stimulating the youth demographic, by maintaining a thoroughly modern look and feel. Our design theme was the task of fusing the refinement and delicateness of traditional Japanese beauty with an edgy, futuristic sensibility. We aimed to let Japanese people recognize the delicateness and refinement of their own cultural legacy again with the brand new rain designed on “Kimono”.

People (especially young people) are wearing Japan's national costume, the Kimono, less and less. Our client, Takashimaya, is one of Japan's oldest purveyors of fine kimono and wanted to develop kimono that will capture the hearts and minds of the young, in order to curb the potential disappearance of this beautiful traditional clothing. We were coming to the point where we had to redesign the Kimono itself, not just reinventing the advertising of it.