This listing is for a vintage Japanese uchikake wedding kimono from The Fuller Collection. See below for details on the provenance of this beautiful garment.
This kimono is from designer Hanae Mori - an icon in the world of Japanese fashion, past and present. Ms. Mori passed away in August of 2022, after spending over 70 years in the fashion industry, from designing uchikake to creatig a line of perfume and so many designs in between. This uchikake is likely from her work in the 1970s, though we cannot be sure. The colors and pattern density are characteristic of her work. The cotton hem covering as well as the lining jacquard confirm the origin of the kimono as Mori's.
Brilliant colors, a collage of florals and cranes - all so striking! You'll also see butterflies - Ms. Mori's signature motifs. The gold threads shimmer in the light, the background colors seem to change with movement, and the folded silk at the neck and sleeves simulate the layers of kimono once worn underneath a wedding kimono in the Edo Period.
The size falls within the typical uchikake measurements of 65-67" long, 52-52" across the sleeves and shoulders, and 48-54" around the middle. We offer sturdy wooden rods for hanging these dazzling displays - see options above.
The Fuller Collection – originally over 2000 kimono – was the passion and pride of Richard Fuller of Chicago, IL and Wabasha, MN. Richard served as a US Marine in post-war Japan, and there began his love of and appreciation for vintage Japanese kimono – especially wedding kimono. Richard saw that the mastery and artisanship of traditional Japanese textile techniques was waning – threatening to die out altogether – which sparked his mission to promote this industry and preserve what he could. Click here to read one of his interviews.
Together with his wife Janith, Richard invested in thousands of kimono and obi, opening Wind Whisper West, a kimono gallery in Wabasha, MN in 2003. Most of the collection was sold there, but several hundred pieces remain. Richard passed in 2020, and Janith has consigned the remainder of the collection to Kyoto Kimono to offer through our website. We are honored and proud to be stewarding the Fuller Collection as each piece finds its new home and continues to bring wonder and beauty to admirers around the world.
