If the UK’s fashion lovers can do it, so can we.
Following reports from the UK last week that the kimono — or the Western high street interpretation of it, at least — has been the summer’s biggest seller, we decided to investigate sales in the UAE.
And it appears you’re just as much in love with the hippy-ish look as your English sisters, who bought 40,000 a week from New Look this summer.
Paul Dale, business head for New Look, said: “Kimonos have done fantastically well for New Look in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Kuwait.
“Kimonos hit the shop floor in April and since then we’ve sold 17,000 pieces — about 119 per day across the region.”
The style — which is like a colourful, lightweight jacket, often with fringing or other embellishment — is the perfect summer piece, fitting our need to cover shoulders from chilly air conditioning and out of respect for local culture.
The 2014 kimono established its credentials at hipster hunting grounds such as the Coachella music festival, but you don’t have to be Kate Moss to wear one.
“Kimonos are very versatile, working as a spring jacket, a lightweight cover up, or, with a belt, as a dress. It doesn’t matter what size or shape you are, you can wear it. Every now and then an item comes along that makes sense for quite a lot of people and everybody buys it,” said Francesca Muston, head of retail and product analysis at the trends agency WGSN.
She added that New Look was one of the first fashion chains to stock the style this spring but other retailers had soon recognised the broad appeal of the simple jacket, which could be produced very cheaply or made into a luxury item with lots of embellishments.
Such has been the tops’ popularity that the online fashion retailer Asos has created a special category for kimonos on its website, stocking more than 40 styles. Estelle Read, woven tops buyer for Asos, said: “We’ve seen a huge rise in the sales of kimonos this summer, as they become the festival essential for the Asos girl during the season.”
She predicted that the garments would continue to sell well this autumn and winter, “reinvented” in heavier, warmer fabrics.
Upmarket versions include an Anna Sui fringed kimono, which was priced at £490 (Dh2,982).
Although the style has been around for several years, proving popular as a beach cover-up or light jacket for special occasions, Muston said the trend had really taken off this year at events such as the Coachella festival, in California, where music fans teamed them with cut-off shorts and cowboy boots for a boho look.
“It’s a trend from the street,” she added. The garment’s association with lazy holidays and beach-to-bar glamour had helped boost its high-street credentials.
But fashion watchers said New Look and other retailers might not be able to enjoy the kimono’s moment in the sun much longer — it could go the way of that other boho beach cover up, the kaftan. The beach shirt, a longer, loose-fitting design, being championed by Topshop this summer, has been the main cover-up for late summer holidays and could eclipse the kimono.
Where to find a kimono
Take the look into winter with a look closer to the original Japanese version.
Copur’s London, Dh1,920, at Valleydez, in Sunset Mall and Galleria Mall.
Unif “Blotter” kimono, Dh620, at West LA, Sunset Mall, Dubai.
This OTT kimono is a collaboration for s*uce’s tenth anniversary. Dh2,540 at all s*uce boutiques.
New Look has two styles in store now: A fringed version for Dh189 and this trimmed one for Dh95.
Harvey Nichols TO COME
