An Empowering Japanese Style Shoot Showcasing a Woman’s Morning Routine

From the creative team at Brancoprata:

“Japanese traditional clothing distinguishes Japan from all other countries in the world. The Japanese word “kimono” means “thing to wear” and is considered the traditional clothing of Japan. Originally, the word kimono was used for all types of clothing but eventually referred specifically to full body clothing also known as nagagi, meaning “long-wear”, which is still used today on special occasions by women, men, and children.

Western clothing covers to fit the shape of the body, whereas the Kimono wraps the body to cover the shape with a straight surface of cloth. The exceptions are the shoulders and hips. Most forms of Western clothing for women are designed and made to emphasize the shape and figure of the body, whereas the Kimono for women is made to cover the woman’s figure and to be cylindrical in appearance.

Pragati + Matthew | Kenneth Pool Wedding from June Cochran Photography

For this editorial, we wanted to emphasize the woman and not necessarily her clothes as we normally do. We created three different scenes (waking up, getting ready, and completely ready to start the day), the styling, the hair, and makeup to mimic the build up until she is actually ready. The kimonos used from the Spanish company L’Arca, were kindly sent to us. These three works of art are perfect for showcasing the distinct moments in the daily life of a woman. For L’Arca, “The present gazes into the mirror of the past, into the beautiful things that make us feel that the spirit remains.”, and this editorial is a good example of just that”.