Fashioning Kimono: Art Deco and Modernism in Japan February 3, 2010

Nearly 100 extraordinary examples of kimono created between the 1890s and the 1950s tell the story of how Japan's traditional national dress was influenced by technological advances in silk production and exposure to Western cultures. Included are everyday garments; intricately embroidered ceremonial robes; boys' kimono stenciled with cars, airplanes and battleships; and colorful examples with Art Deco patterns that heralded the emergence of Japan's "new woman." All are drawn from the famed Montgomery Collection in Lugano, Switzerland.