Silkworm Madcap
I am launching this silk business as an experimental initiative for my film project, Silkworm Madcap.
I collect discarded kimonos in Japan and repurpose them into European-style silk garments—starting with neckwear—to be sold in Europe. This website will function as both an online shop and a journal of the process. The entire project documents my attempt to build an absurd “Silk Road,” serving as a core narrative element of the film.
Contact me for custom designs, collaboration opportunities, or purchases!
info@rumikohagiwara.com
Each design will be uniquely customised with your choice of kimono silk and the neckwear styles shown above. New pieces will be added soon—stay tuned!
How to order with kimono samples
How to order with kimono samples: Click here
Most vintage silk kimonos were sewn by hand, as they were designed to be taken apart and modified for future use. However, under capitalism, unraveling kimonos costs more in labor.
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I feel that collecting discarded silk kimonos, washing, unraveling, and carefully sewing them on my own —rather than outsourcing to inexpensive overseas labor—is economically impractical, yet it represents a meaningful act of defiance.
As a conceptual artist, I am drawn to questions of value in today’s economy — specifically the place of physical labour in an era of mass production. As a Japanese artist living in the Netherlands, unable to escape the exotic gaze, I choose to use it as capital, turning it into a conceptual framework. I launched this silk business to explore these dynamics.
How much do you want to be complicit in my act?