​Spirit Bomb Style: A Fashion Feature with Fresh New Ohio Kimono Pieces

Usman Khan, @usman_kahn_photography on Facebook

I'm taking a departure from my usual pedagogical vocal fare here to tackle a totally different topic: fashion.  When my anime tribute band Spirit Bomb was first forming, I knew I wanted to incorporate real Japanese kimono and other traditional Japanese pieces into my looks. We’re an anime band, sure, but as a first-generation Japanese American (I was born in Japan), I wanted to make sure to represent Japanese culture as well. I primarily accomplished this by singing in Japanese and wearing actual Japanese traditional clothing. 
 
But real kitsuke (Japanese kimono styling) is extremely difficult—in fact, it’s considered an art form in Japan. Body, restrictive kimono also aren’t exactly right for the modern music Spirit Bomb performs and for allowing me to freely flail around onstage. So, I knew I wanted to do a fusion of the two—traditional and modern garments mixed together into a dramatic, fun look that still allowed me to bounce around as much as I wanted while performing.
 
Since Spirit Bomb kicked off in 2022, I’ve been having a blast coming up with all kinds of stage looks to wear nationwide for performances. Now, thanks to a new collaboration with Ohio Kimono, I’ve got some brand new Japanese kimono style pieces to play with. Here’s a little information on where I got my ideas, the different Japanese clothing items I use, and the styling guidelines that have helped me most.

Step 1: Brainstorming My Bastardized Kitsuke Looks
 
I’m a millennial. So, naturally, my first step to coming up with my traditional-meets-modern Japanese kimono look was to make a Pinterest board.
 
My Pinterest board has a lot of modern Japanese kimono-style inspiration from street fashion in Japan, usually in fashion-forward areas like Harajuku. The outfits I gravitated towards incorporate traditional pieces and modern clothing elements. There’s also a lot of stuff from a few runway shows that were heavily influenced by Japanese kimono style. 
 
I had some main takeaways from this “research,” but before I share it with you, I want to go over the types of Japanese garments that appear in my stage looks. I’ll focus on the ones I currently own and use in my Spirit Bomb looks.

Not Just Japanese Kimono: Types of Japanese Clothing I Use in my Stage Looks

Note that the pieces pictured here are not the actual pieces I own; rather, most of these are up for grabs at ohiokimono.com at the time of writing. 

Japanese Kimono: This is a formal, lined, full-length robe and is famous as the go-to traditional Japanese clothing. Japanese kimono often feature ornate patterns and silk fabric—very luxurious.

View product page at ohiokimono.com

Yukata: Yukata are kind of like summer kimono. They are unlined and tend to be made of cotton, and their patterns aren’t quite as ornate. However, they are still lovely, and many more modern ones incorporate details like metallic threads.

View product page at ohiokimono.com

Haori: Haori are like kimono except they are shorter—they hit about thigh-height on me (I’m 4’11”). Like kimono, they tend to be lined and feature some beautiful fabrics and prints. Traditionally, they are worn over kimono, but I just wear them separately.

View product page at ohiokimono.com

Obi: Obi are the belts that wrap around Japanese kimono. They are extremely long—probably 10 feet or so. Putting them on and tying them using kitsuke is difficult and not something I am very good at, but I’ve found other ways to use them.

View product page at ohiokimono.com

Jimbei: This is the most casual Japanese clothing item I own. It’s a two-piece unlined shorts and top set made of yukata-like cotton. Mine has flowers on it instead of flamingos (ha ha). I usually just wear them as pajamas or loungewear, but I have worn them for performances, especially if it’s really hot out and the performance is outside.

View product page at ohiokimono.com

Accessories: I’m still building this up, but I do have some cute hair clips (kanzashi) in a Japanese fabric print that I like to throw onto modern clothing if I need a pop of color. ​

View product page at ohiokimono.com

Principles I Use When Designing My Modern Japanese Kimono Looks
 
Now, back to the Pinterest board. Here are my main takeaways from this “research” and what I’ve since learned dressing myself for countless shows.

Cinched waists are important. Traditional Japanese kimono style does not include a cinched waist—in fact, women with a large waist-to-hip ratio have to wear padding under their obi to make them look more vertical. The boxier, the better, but that doesn’t work for me in this context. For a more modern look that doesn’t swallow my small frame, corset-style wide belts or even just a wide length of rope are crucial.

I really like fluttery sleeves. Most Japanese traditional garments feature long sleeves—perhaps a foot or so of vertical length that hangs off the arm when the arms are raised. The ultimate example of this is the furisode—a very fancy kimono worn by unmarried women with super long sleeves. However, even normal kimonos have fun sleeves that look great when I raise my arms onstage. This is a big part of my stage look, and I even modified a haori to elongate the sleeves.

Obi are very flexible. I started wrapping them around myself in all kinds of ways to make ersatz shirts and sashes. I even made a corset out of one! I ran into an issue of them being very thick and heavy due to many layers of stiff fabric, so I’ve started disassembling some of them to make them more physically flexible to work with. The one pictured here is still fully lined.

 Two New Types of Japanese Clothing from Ohio Kimono
 
Ohio Kimono generously sent some new items my way recently, including this fabulous kimono I wore for Spirit Bomb's performance the 2024 Fort Wayne Cherry Blossom Festival: 

Usman Khan, @usman_kahn_photography on Facebook

They also gifted me with two brand-new styles of Japanese clothing that I’m excited to incorporate into future looks. 

Pre-Folded Obi: As I mentioned, obi are a massive pain to put on and pretty hard to work with. This pre-folded obi comes in two parts: a tie-on wide sash and a pre-tied bow with a user-friendly clip in the back. I already see so many possibilities for this! ​

Michiyuki: “Michi” means “street” and “yuki” approximately means “to go.” These jackets are meant to cover other garments when worn outside, so when Ohio Kimono told me they were sending me one, I expected something a little closer to a yukata or jimbe in quality. Color me surprised when this beauty arrived. It’s much closer to a kimono or haori in quality, with textured fabric that’s really going to pop onstage. Notice the row of buttons that fully close this garment, setting it apart from a haori.

Creating Your Own Japanese Kimono Style
 
Whether you’re going to a Japanese cultural festival, an anime convention, or some other event, incorporating some Japanese inspiration can be a lot of fun. Be sure to hit up Ohio Kimono for any of the pieces you might need for your look, and if you find any inspiration you think I should know about, please send it my way—I’m always open to new ideas! As for Spirit Bomb, go to our website for all our socials and calendar.