A visceral kaleidoscope of texture, pattern and colour, Memoirs of a Geisha tells the tumultuous tale of Chiyo Sakamoto; a rising Geisha in war-ridden Japan. The daughter of a poor fishing family sold to a Geisha house, Chiyo is bitterly envied by the Geishas for her tender age and beauty, taken under the wing of one of the most popular Geishas, Chiyo thrives under her love and guidance to becomes Sayuri, the most legendary Geisha in the nation. Admired by many, Sayuri/Chiyo yearns only for the attention of The Chairman.
Beautiful and bold, adorning heavy silks and flowing fabric, we’d refuse to believe the costumes aren’t 100% genuine to any critical Japanese fashionista. An admirable challenge to take on In just five months, costume designer Colleen Atwood immersed herself in research to replicate the fashion of 1930’s Japan. ”Believe me, the art of the kimono is a very complicated form,” says Atwood, who earned herself an Oscar for the creation of over 250 hand-tailored kimonos.
Atwood took a “moderne” vision to the costumes, making the prints, patterns and colours bigger and bolder than traditional kimonos and inspired each character’s costume around a “mood” palette. The neutral colours worn by Sayuri mirror her amicable nature, while the vibrant reds, blacks and greens worn by Hatsumomo highlight a stark contrast in their character motives. Compromising accuracy of Japanese fashion for creative style is forgiven for the intensely stunning shot of Sayuri dancing under the snow, having been rejected by a man she feels strongly for. The sheer emotion of the scene is heightened by the combination of silvery.white silk and blood red intercut to the underneath of the skirt, flashing as she moves.
With fabrics layered over and over, pulled and tightened for the right fit, dressing the stars was a lengthly and time consuming task.’‘Each time we put them on, it took at least an hour,” says Ziyi Zhang (Sayuri). ”It has to be very tight, and it was hard to drink or go to the toilet, because you don’t want to bother the [dressers] — you know, to take it off, put it back. So we just controlled the water!”
Incorporating a “moderne” vision to the Japanese style, Atwood “used the base of Japanese fabrics, but we scaled up the patterns and simplified the designs,” with this Chinchilla Collared Winter Coat a proud favourite of the designer. ‘‘I took the pattern off a vintage piece I found in London, moved it around, and had it reembroidered on a similar kind of silk, then added the fur and the velvet lining, which is not something they did in Japan then. It’s a very made-up costume — a real geisha would never wear anything that flashy. But it’s good fun, and I just thought it was beautiful.”
If you’re not feeling brave enough to dress head to toe in kimono and snowy make-up, don’t fear! We’re loving these silk-look Japanese print dressing gowns, £19.99 from Asia Dragon.
