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00:13 Japan's traditional costume, the kimono.
00:16 In the past, this was an everyday garment.
00:21 Today, it's mostly worn for special events and ceremonial occasions.
00:29 The roots of the kimono date back to the 8th century.
00:31 It went through many changes before evolving into the kimono we see today.
00:36 Made in an almost limitless range of patterns and colours,
00:42 kimono has expressed the range of Japanese aesthetic sensibility.
00:48 The Tango region faces the Sea of Japan in the north part of Kyoto Prefecture.
00:58 This is where almost 70% of Japanese silk kimono fabric is made.
01:02 The fabric is called Tango Chirimen.
01:06 At the region's annual kimono festival,
01:12 the streets are filled with people proudly showing off their favourite kimonos.
01:24 This is what makes Tango Chirimen fabric special, its wrinkled surface.
01:28 These fine irregular wrinkles reflect light randomly,
01:34 adding a unique depth and richness to the colours of the cloth.
01:38 Tango Chirimen has a 300-year history.
01:45 Production involves a great many processes and is highly skilled work.
01:49 Creating wrinkles in the cloth is one of the most complex of all these processes.
01:53 First, the yarn is strongly twisted at high speed.
01:58 The twisted yarn is then woven into fabric.
02:02 This is followed by immersion in hot water to clean it.
02:11 In the hot water, the twisted yarn is then soaked in hot water.
02:17 In the hot water, the twisted yarn loosens and tries to return to its original shape.
02:22 It's this that produces the distinctive wrinkles.
02:25 It gives the cloth a very beautiful luster.
02:31 That's why our fabric was always highly valued and used for top quality kimonos.
02:36 Recently, kimono designers have been taking their motifs from the world outside Japan.
02:45 This kimono was inspired by one of Argentina's most famous glaciers.
02:49 Silver and blue yarns are interwoven to suggest streams of melting ice on the glacier surface.
02:58 This project was a great opportunity for me to get to know other cultures
03:06 and at the same time to communicate Japanese culture to the world.
03:11 One of Kyoto's oldest kimono stores is also one of the most adventurous.
03:15 This was a joint project between a Japanese and a Congolese designer.
03:27 Historically, people felt free to make kimonos anywhere they liked.
03:34 So I decided I had the freedom to do it.
03:37 I had the freedom to mix African materials and designs with traditional kimono elements.
03:42 But I think we stayed true to the essence of the kimono.
03:46 This is their latest joint creation.
03:50 In Africa, two hearts touching traditionally signifies a union or bond between people.
03:58 The collars and sleeves bear an arabesque pattern of vines that symbolizes vitality.
04:05 You can have a collaboration, you can have like a complementarity between the two cultures.
04:11 After all these centuries, the kimono is as charming as ever.
04:19 And today, overseas influences are taking this traditional symbol of Japan in new and exciting directions.
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