ObiforCorset proposes 袋帯 a journey
between past and present, East and West.
All the corsets are handmade from
vintage Obis, the traditional Japanese
belts used to hold Kimonos in place.
We offer a bespoke service to
create your own Corset choosing your
favourite Obi from our archive and
following your measurements. Our
one-of-a-kind pieces are also available for
purchase here.
Our product transforms an element of
the Eastern tradition, a Japanese Obi,
into an element of the Western tradition,
a Corset. We can find fascinating
parallelisms and contradictions between
Obis and Corsets.
Highly decorated Japanese Obis have
been used for centuries to close
kimonos. The purpose of the piece was
to hide the waist creating a feminine
figure with no curves.
In the Western world on the other hand,
the corsets were made to enhance the
waist to the extreme in a constrictive and
hidden way. Nowadays this purpose
has changed and now corsets have been
revisited as elevated
and empowering garments.
In our corsets, the deconstruction of the
vintage Obi wants to show the journey
from the original piece of fabric to
its new form. As the Japanese technique of
Kintsugi teaches, the signs of an event on
an object, event the rupture, charges
the value of the object itself.
Each corset panel is clearly visible in order to
emphasise this process.
While also practicing a sustainable
approach to fashion, the reusing of aged
Obis allows us to work with fabrics
loaded with a story of their own.
Every piece comes with intricate and
fascinating representations woven within
the fabric: ancient landscapes, herons,
fans and flowers are only a few examples
of the rich embroideries found in the
original pieces.
The result is a timeless garment,
enriched by contributions from two
different cultures.
It is a unique piece to wear as a tribute to
the cultures of the world.