You may know that at KIM+ONO, we make beautiful flower silk robes that are inspired by traditional kimono. You may know that we offer our ladies dusters and men’s kimono wraps both online and in our kimono store in San Francisco on Grant Avenue. You may even know that our company is an extension of a 30+ year family business, developed first by Renee and Tiffany Tam’s parents, and then reimagined into the modern KIM+ONO brand you know and love today.
But what you might not know is how we design these beautiful flower silk robes. You may not know the extensive process each kimono style goes through before it finds its way into your closet. And you may not know that you — yes you! — are an integral part of that robe design process. From the first inspirations from traditional kimono to customer feedback to collaboration with our artisan team in China’s Silk Village, each and every kimono robe is stitched with intention and designed with you in mind. So today in the journal, we’re pulling back the curtain so you can see the details of this design process and fall even more in love with your favorite modern silk kimono robes. Here’s how we make these beautiful botanical ladies dusters:
Inspiration from the Traditional Kimono & Vintage Asian Art
When sisters and co-founders Renee and Tiffany Tam were young girls, they visited Asia with their parents on work trips. During those formative years, the Tam sisters watched talented artisans handcraft traditional kimono. From the silk fabrics to the generations-old techniques, the sisters never forgot the details of that visit. When they opened KIM+ONO, they let the memory of these handcrafted traditional kimono and the images from vintage Asian art inspire their own unique modern designs. It’s this commitment to the heritage of traditional kimono that forms the foundation for every design choice they make. The Tam sisters design each and every one of their flower silk robes in-house in San Francisco. Even though they are modern designs, there is personal and family history in each piece.
Photo by Andrea Posadas
Customer Feedback Guides Our Next Designs
One of our guiding forces in crafting each of our ladies dusters designs is you. Our customers are a huge part of how we determine what designs should be next. When folks come into our kimono store in Chinatown, or reach out to us online, we take each and every piece of feedback and request to heart. When you asked for plus size kimono robes, we added a Curve Collection to our line up. When you asked for pockets, we made sure they were added to each and every kimono wrap. When you give us your suggestions, whether during your kimono store visit or by emailing us or by direct messaging us on social media, we gather your suggestions. We sort through the highest in-demand requests and choose to work on the most requested design ideas first.
Choosing the Best Material for the New Design
Depending on the design request, our team will then determine which material will best support the customer’s feedback. For instance, when customers requested pockets, we knew we couldn’t add these to our flower silk robes. Adding a pocket to any singular layer of silk would distort the fluid, liquid drape so we chose the charmeuse kimono wraps for this design addition instead. For our plus size kimono robes, we began with our best-selling Charmeuse materials, and then added on Printed Silk and Washable Silk to bring these Curve flower silk robes to life. After we know the design direction, we choose the best material to help execute at the highest quality level.
Determining the Best, Most Flattering Kimono Style Cut
The cuts of our ladies dusters have always taken inspiration from traditional kimono. The classic T-shaped design has so many benefits. The T-shaped cut does not have shoulder seams so it fits everyone a little bit differently depending on the breadth of the wearer’s shoulders. It also features ¾ length sleeves, which means it will fall a little longer or shorter depending on your shoulders as well. But our kimono wraps do have shoulder seams and a longer sleeve. We also feature slight width differences within our ‘one size fits most’ pieces. So depending on both the design elements and the material choice, we’ll next determine the right cut.
Working with Our Team of Makers
The Tam family has been partnering with the same family of artisans in China’s Silk Village for decades. The beauty of these botanical flower silk robes is that each one is handmade by artisans who have been taught generations-old, timeless techniques. When we come up with our next design, we collaborate with our talented team of makers to determine the best final design and style. We work together to troubleshoot any challenges that may come up, from sourcing raw materials to shipment timing to any tweaks to the in-house designs that need to be made once applied to the material. We worked together with our makers to determine that our Limited Edition Handpainted Silk Collection needed to take seven days to craft from start to finish. We determined it needed to start with a hand-sketch before the 100% Grade 6A Raw Mulberry Silk would then be saturated in watercolor. And it was this seven day process that brought one of our most popular designs to life. Collaborating with artists who have passed down techniques generation after generation allows us to make these ladies dusters structurally sound without sacrificing the delicate, feminine flow that makes them so luxurious.
There are always surprises when it comes to making our flower silk robes, men’s kimono wraps, and plus size kimono robes. There are always challenges and unexpected, happy accidents that come up — as with anything in life! We hope knowing the basic details of how we think about our robe designs and how our kimonos are made gives you a deeper appreciation for your luxurious flower silk robe each time you slip into it.
