Japanese 'granny fashion' is what they are calling it at PingMag, the Tokyo-based magazine about design and making things. Could the haramaki* shed its uncool image as underwear for the old and infirm to become the next fashion hit? Well apparently, after a few design updates, the haramaki already has become a "super desirable fashion item" in Tokyo.
As the success story goes, designer Shigesato Itoi from Hobonichi collaborated with a Niigata-based knitwear producer to offer his updated haramaki in colorful fun prints. Hobonichi offers two collections per year, Winter and Summer, each composed of limited edition pieces which customers seem to snap up immediately. Hobonichi, now on its 11th collection, sells 15,000 haramaki per season! That's a lot of haramaki.
I guess I can see the appeal. If you want to wear a dress over jeans and don't want to go to all the trouble, the haramaki, worn low, gives the same effect. If you are an obi enthusiast, but want a more forgiving knit version, again, the haramaki is your go-to piece. If your shirt is too short, and all your tank tops are in the wash, the haramaki to the rescue!
So I guess you could say that I am pro-haramaki.
*hara=stomach, as in 'hara heta,' the granny way to say 'I'm hungry'; maki=roll, as in sushi roll
omg. this is so cool.
ReplyDeletei love it
[and i loved your bento post too!!]
i like haramaki. And I know that knitting fashion will always come back. we will see a lot of it in fall on the street and on my blog: www.twoforfashion.de xoxok
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