Inherited Pattern Kimono
Black Friday: up to 50% off in the pre-sale.Get first access →
The Handwork
Inherited Pattern Kimono
-
Handwoven
Handloom cloth is made by hand from end to end. Yarn is wound onto the warp beam of a pit loom, the khaddi, and woven one pick at a time: the weaver opens the shed with the treadles, throws the shuttle across and beats each row into place with the reed. The slubs and small shifts in tension stay in the cloth. That is the point.
-
Hand Block-Printed
Block printing is one of the oldest ways of putting pattern on cloth in South Asia. A drawing is transferred to a block of seasoned wood and carved by hand, so the pattern stands proud of the surface. Charged with dye and pressed down, the block leaves one repeat. Set side by side, impression after impression, the repeats become the cloth. Every piece is printed with natural dyes, and every block is carved by hand, so no two blocks are the same.
-
Hand-Embroidered Details
Kadhai is embroidery worked by hand. A design is traced onto the cloth as a khaka, the cloth is stretched taut on an adda or a hoop, and a karigar works it stitch by stitch in silk, cotton and metallic zari. The needle is guided by eye and by hand, so no two pieces carry quite the same line.
A kimono is a garment that carries its own archive — every fold, every pattern, every colour a reference to something. RASTAH's Inherited Pattern Kimono takes that archival quality and runs it through the material language of South Asian craft, producing something that belongs to both traditions and fully to neither.
Constructed from hand-woven khaddar, the kimono carries an all-over block print that covers the entire surface before a single other element is applied. Hand embellishments in bethki — a form of mirror-work embellishment — and sequins are then placed across the printed ground by hand, individually positioned. A golden front string closes the garment, finished with beaded ends that move when worn.
Khaddar as a base for a kimono silhouette is an intentional collision: a Japanese form in a South Asian fabric, both of them rooted in textile cultures that value surface, that treat cloth as a place for meaning. The block print underneath the hand embellishments creates depth — there is a visual layer that exists even before the mirror-work catches light.
Inherited patterns are the ones we didn't choose but carry forward anyway. This kimono is made from several of them at once — passed down, transformed, and worn into the next generation.
- Fabric
- Hand-woven khaddar
- Care
- Dry clean only
Features
- All-over block print
- Hand-applied bethki (mirror-work) embellishments
- Hand-applied sequin detailing
- Golden front string closure with beaded finish
- Kimono silhouette
The craft · Khaddi
کھڈیWoven pick by pick.
Cotton is warped onto a wooden khaddi and woven one throw of the shuttle at a time. The slubs and small shifts in the weave stay in the cloth. That's the point.
You looked at
Black Friday · Preview
First look at the Black Friday dropThe new drop is open
Join the list for pre-sale prices and a first look at the drop. Early access opens Nov 18, 9 PM PKT.You’re on the list. Add your number to see the new drop.You’re on the list. The new drop is open for you. Early access opens Nov 18, 9 PM PKT.
Black Friday
Early access is open
The waitlist shops 1 hour before everyone.
Black Friday
Black Friday is live
Up to 35% off.
