Kim Kardashian’s shape-wear brand received a lot of backlash from Japan. It isn’t her line of clothing that faced it, but the very name of the brand, “Kimono”. Kim Kardashian wanted to play around with her name and hence named her brand after her. But the shot back-fired and it seems many are unhappy with her decision.
Kim Kardashian West shared the launch of her brand on Twitter – “Finally, I can share with you guys this project that I have been developing for the last year. I’ve been passionate about this for 15 years. Kimono is my take on shape-wear and solutions for women that actually work.”
Kimono is a traditional outfit in Japan. And the word Kimono actually means “something to wear”. It was once a standard outfit of Japanese. But now it is wore on special occasions like weddings and coming of age ceremonies. That is why naming her brand Kimono was not a good move on the part of Kim. Twitter went into a frenzy and now #KimOhno is all rage.
One of the Japanese Tweeted “She’s been to Japan many times. I’m shocked. She has no respect.”
Another tweeted “I like Kim Kardashian but please pick a name other than Kimono if it’s underwear.”
One also wrote- “The Japanese government should file a protest against Kardashian.”
Given Kim Kardashian’s penchant for figure hugging fashion, her brand isn’t a surprise to us.
A user named Yuko Kato re-tweeted and replied to Kim’s self –centred campaign. “Nice underwear, but as a Japanese woman who loves to wear our traditional dress Kimono I find the naming of your products baffling ( since it has no resemblance to Kimono). If not outright culturally offensive, especially, it it’s merely a word play on your name. Please reconsider.”
In a conversation with the BBC, a Japanese woman called Yuka Ohishi explained “We wear kimonos to celebrate health, growth of children, engagements, marriages, graduations, at funerals. It’s celebratory wear and passed on in families through the generations. She just chose the word that has “Kim” in it- there is no respect to what the garment actually means in our culture.”
The Japanese aren’t happy with their traditional outfit taking the form of an underwear brand. But Kim has denied all such accusations. And she is not planning on changing the name of the label for now.
