A new form breathes a new life into an old fashion. 

Kimono are a part of traditional Japanese culture and will forever be respected as such, but sadly with the advent of modern clothing (which only takes a few seconds to put on as opposed to an hour or more for a formal kimono), kimono have largely become out of style for everyday wear.

As a result, some Japanese people have kimono just sitting in their closet, abandoned and forgotten, and so many fashionistas and crafty up-cyclers have started thinking of how to use the beautiful fabrics in a new way, like in modern wedding dresses, sneakers, and drinking bottles. Fashion designer Keiko Tagai‘s way was to turn them into stylish, modern hats.

▼ “We breathe new life into kimonos and are creating hats. Please enjoy Japanese style in every daily life.”

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Tagai has taken many different kimono fabrics and created an array of different hats for all occasions, from casual to formal. These hats are beautifully designed in many different styles, and can be worn by both men and women.

▼ Keiko Tagai wearing a Kimono Hat

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Tagai’s brand, Keiko Tagai, has also opened a service that allows customers to turn their own forgotten kimono into hats. These custom-made hats are tailored to match the customer’s style and the pattern of the kimono. They’re also sized just for them, so they would be the only hats of their kind in the world.

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Because the nature of kimono fabrics vary, each hat, whether custom made or not, is carefully hand-created by an artisan, who adjusts the use of linings, stapling, and glue in order to bring out the best of the fabric and pattern in the hat. All of the hats are also sustainably developed, too, according to the website, so you can be fashionable and eco-minded at the same time.

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The website claims that KEIKO TAGAI is the world’s first fashion brand to create hats out of kimono, though that’s technically not true, since one company sold caps made with kimono fabric a few years ago. Still, these hats look amazing, and we’d love to get our hands on one!

Prices of Keiko Tagai’s kimono hats range from 14,400 yen (US$137.99) to 41,200 yen ($393.10) per hat. You can buy them on their online shop, and overseas fashion-lovers can rejoice in knowing that they offer free shipping worldwide!

Source: Japaaaan, Keiko Tagai
Top image: Keiko Tagai
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