Kimono Fashion Unfurls in New York Exhibition

A Kimono is displayed during a press preview for ”Kimono Style: The John C. Weber Collections” at The Met Fifth Avenue in New York on June 6, 2022. (AFP)
A Kimono is displayed during a press preview for ”Kimono Style: The John C. Weber Collections” at The Met Fifth Avenue in New York on June 6, 2022. (AFP)
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Kimono Fashion Unfurls in New York Exhibition

A Kimono is displayed during a press preview for ”Kimono Style: The John C. Weber Collections” at The Met Fifth Avenue in New York on June 6, 2022. (AFP)
A Kimono is displayed during a press preview for ”Kimono Style: The John C. Weber Collections” at The Met Fifth Avenue in New York on June 6, 2022. (AFP)

Kimonos, covered with polka dots, Cubist patterns and big-eyed anime characters, are on display in New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, showing how East and West influenced each other to transform the traditional Japanese garment.

"Usually when you think of fashion, you think of big brands made in the Western world. But the kimono also had a fashion system going back to the 17th century," said Monika Bincsik, Diane and Arthur Abbey Associate Curator for Japanese Decorative Arts at the museum.

More than 60 kimonos are on display alongside Western dresses in the first show co-hosted by the Met's Japanese Gallery and Costume Institute.

"The Japanese kimono had a big influence on Western fashion going back to the early 20th century," Bincsik said.

For example, French couturier Paul Poiret created a kimono coat, while Western abstract art inspired the bold geometric patterned "Meisen" kimonos of the early 1900s.

The exhibit runs through Feb. 20.



Italian Shoemaker Geox to Invest $125 Million in 5-year Plan

FILE PHOTO: Geox shoes are seen in a shop in Rome, Italy, April 10, 2016. REUTERS/Max Rossi/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Geox shoes are seen in a shop in Rome, Italy, April 10, 2016. REUTERS/Max Rossi/File Photo
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Italian Shoemaker Geox to Invest $125 Million in 5-year Plan

FILE PHOTO: Geox shoes are seen in a shop in Rome, Italy, April 10, 2016. REUTERS/Max Rossi/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Geox shoes are seen in a shop in Rome, Italy, April 10, 2016. REUTERS/Max Rossi/File Photo

Italian shoemaker Geox plans to invest about 120 million euros ($125 million) as part of an industrial plan to 2029 and has signed a five-year deal with a leading Chinese operator to expand its presence in the country.

The maker of breathable, waterproof footwear said in November it would end direct operations in the unprofitable Chinese and US markets after posting a 9.7% yearly drop in nine-month revenue globally, Reuters reported. It said it would continue its business in the two countries through local partnerships.

In addition to the investments, announced in a statement late on Monday, the group said it would extend by 24 months the medium- to long-term debt repayment plans as part of a debt refinancing agreement with creditor banks including Monte dei Paschi and the Italian units of BNP Paribas and Credit Agricole.
Geox controlling shareholder LIR, the family holding of its chairman and founder Mario Moretti Polegato, will contribute up to 60 million euros to the industrial plan, the statement said.
The shoemaker expects yearly revenues above 850 million euros by 2029, compared with 720 million in 2023, with compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5% in the next five years, and an EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes) margin over 7% by 2029.