Photo courtesy Montsuki

One of Montsuki's bridal creations found its way to the Bellagio in Las Vegas

East meets west and old meets new in creations by Montsuki

Up until about 30 years ago, an old kimono was something to be discarded or given away. However, a small movement led by TEMARI Center for Asian and Pacific arts began encouraging those with a creative streak to pull them out of closets and TANSU and hang them as works of art, or rework them into updated designs that could be worn.

The problem was, kimono and obi fabric was difficult to use. They required an artist’s eye to best utilize the designs, nimble fingers to manipulate the thick fabric and an engineer’s mind-set to figure out how to lay out the pieces to create Western-style garments. Typically, bolts of fabric made in Japan were 28 inches wide, versus the 44- to 60-inch widths standard in the West.

Janet Yamasaki and Patty Yamasaki Sugai are among a small group of designers who mastered the art and built businesses based on their expertise at incorporating the traditional fabrics into contemporary designs. and somewhat to Sugai’s surprise, they find themselves considered as pioneers a second time around, as part of the new green vanguard.

“There are more and more people interested in preserving the vintage items that belonged to their grandmothers, and instead of throwing it away, having it made into something wearable so it’s with them, not hidden away,” Sugai says.

The mother-and-daughter team started Montsuki in 1979. Both had been working for other companies, but Sugai believed that opening their own business would offer a better outlet for their creativity, and the pair quickly won a loyal following.

Their original designs incorporated natural fibers, but Sugai’s interest in Japanese textiles grew as she discovered more sources for vintage silk kimonos, obis and traditional dyed fabrics, or shiboris, that included tie-dyed cloth, rustic kasuris and ikats, which also were losing favor in Japan.

When her mother passed away suddenly last year, Sugai found herself struggling to perform triple duty designing, pattern-making and overseeing production. But her clients remain supportive, and she always makes time for custom work, in addition to creating one-of-a-kind garments to fill her boutique racks.

The ideas of recycling and passing down one’s family legacy go hand in hand, and Sugai has found new business among a younger clientele bringing in their grandmothers’ or great-grandmothers’ kimono and obi to be refashioned into wedding gowns or contemporary street apparel.

“Sometimes, if the kimono or obi is badly bugged out or rotted, it’s a challenge to make something out of what there is to use. But we can usually come up with a nice medium,” she says. in some cases, for instance, a garment can be made, but cannot be cleaned often. it’s an inconvenience clients are willing to live with as more people recognize how interconnected we are, whether from generation to generation, or as part of the planetary cycle of growth, waste and renewal.