Vintage Haori: Red Shibori

A decorative women’s haori rendered in a red-colored shibori over a rose-pink ground. The surface is densely textured through thousands of resist bindings, giving the cloth its characteristic pebbled depth and subtle variation. Flowing bands of cloud-like forms emerge in deeper crimson, moving laterally across the body and sleeves in an asymmetrical composition typical of interwar women’s haori design.

The interior is fully lined in silk rinzu, woven with kikkō (tortoiseshell) geometry and stylized floral motifs and dyed a pale, harmonious pink with some discoloration consistent with age. The lining quietly echoes the exterior palette, an intentional choice that reflects the refinement of urban dress in this period.

Designed to be worn open over a kimono, the haori functioned as an outer layer for social occasions rather than formal ceremonies. 

An expressive example of 20th-century Japanese textile practices, balancing surface-rich decoration with controlled composition and color.

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PROVENANCE

These kimonos come from the private collection of Christine Ong, a Peranakan Singaporean singer and entrepreneur now associated with the preeminent Asian publisher Tuttle. Ong is an esteemed collector of Asian cultural artifacts, including Japanese textiles, which she sources from defunct kimono collectors and tailors in Japan.