Bright and daring

"If you saw the popular exhibition Taisho Chic: Japanese Modernity, Nostalgia and Deco at the Academy in 2002 (it’s now on view at the Art Gallery of New South Wales in Sydney), you know that the Taishô era (1912-1926) was a unique period in the history of Japanese design. That applied to textiles, whose visual motifs, newly introduced from Western modern art, merged with Japanese tradition to create kimono of daring design. Via mechanized spinning and weaving and chemical dyes introduced from Europe, these designs were applied to mass-produced women’s silk kimono. You can see the influence of European and American Art Deco in the strikingly graphic, colorful images. Simultaneously, small classic Japanese motifs were dramatically enlarged to make dynamic visual statements. Each kimono attests to an energetic, free spirited era."