Tracing Traditional Garments

'Tracing Traditional Garments' is an InDesign research book detailing the original traditional garments of China, Japan and Thailand. After making the decision to look into an area of costume/fashion history that was completely unknown to me, I began to research into different Asian dress cultures and what was considered the traditional dress of that country. I began using InDesign to create the book so that I could present my research in a way that others could also learn and gain an appreciation for the topic.

I first investigated into the ‘official’ traditional dress of Japan, the kimono, ‘considered Japan’s most iconic garment’, (TokyoWeekender, 2021). Dated back to the Heian Period (794- 1185), the kimono – formerly known as the kosode – was one undergarment layer of the official court wear, the Jūnihitoe (meaning ‘12 layered robe’).

For China, it was the Hanfu, the traditional dress of the Han Dynasty (202BC – 220AD), it was during this period that key developments in culture, art and clothing were made. Traditional structures of the Hanfu are now making a resurgence in fashion, in what is known as the ‘The Hanfu Movement’ (South China Morning Post, 2019).

For Thailand, the journey back was only a short one to the 1960’s, where Queen Sirikit (known as Mom Rajawongse Sirikit) led researchers and aided in the design of eight official garments of Thailand - together named the Chut Thai.