Yōkai Rebirth — Shadows Woven with Memory
This collection is inspired by Japan’s unique yōkai culture and is composed of ten one-of-a-kind garments.
Using antique kimono, obi, and fragments of textiles once cherished in everyday life, each piece carries the memories, wishes, and emotions of the people who once wore them, reimagined as contemporary art fashion.
Yōkai are not merely mythical creatures.
They are embodiments of fear, prayer, hope, and belief—born from the lives of people in different eras.
Through KIWA’s garments, the memories embedded in each textile are revived, transforming into new narratives that exist between fashion, art, and cultural remembrance.
Traditionally spoken of as “shadows,” yōkai represent the unseen emotions of humanity.
By restoring memory together with fabric, these shadows are reborn as garments for the present day.
Yōkai are not simply frightening beings, but “manifestations of memory”.
Upcycling, in this collection, means reviving forgotten memories, kimonos intertwined with human emotion.
This story resonates beautifully even in Lake Como, a land defined by water,
and speaks clearly to international audiences through its intersection of culture, regeneration, and art.
The structure of 10 characters creates a narrative arc, a visual drama woven through rebirth.