Feeling the Japanese tradition and living it in our days, this is MANAKA. A brand that uses traditional technologies for the present day, so that posterity can also have the honor of experiencing the history of Japan.

Now that the world is running fast and everything is a fusion of various cultures, MANAKA wants to preserve and bring true Japanese taste to life and let all those who really love Japan wear this. Each dress has a soul, the soul of Japanese designers and craftsmen. A soul that wants to show itself and speak today by telling what Japan was, what it is and what it will be. Each work is not static, but has a life, a movement. MANAKA is art in motion. As Imortant as all of this is, it should actually be screamed, instead however everything is told with an all-Japanese elegance and education, a desire that is born with Producer Yukiko Yamanaka.

Art in motion

MANAKA is a name that we can now see worldwide. From the exhibitions at the Italian Triennale Art Museum, from Taiwan and Singapore to the diplomatic events of the 80th anniversary in Paraguay, in South America and during demonstrations at TEDX in Hong Kong. MANAKA is also worn by the finalists of Miss Universe Japan and World Supermodel. In fact, these dresses not only underline their beauty but give an atmosphere and a particularity that other brands can hardly give. Even the media have not remained indifferent. MANAKA has in fact appeared in big media names including Toyo Economic online, Tokyo Business Today, “DiGJAPAN!” of Shobunsha and TOKYO FRONT LINE, and these are just a few examples.

MANAKA at the Salone del mobile 2020

After receiving the coveted award at the World Supermodel Production 2019, we will be able to attend the presentation of the new MANAKA Phoenix Kimono dress at the Salone del Mobile 2020 in Milan! An opportunity not to be missed, not only because you can admire the wonder of the kimono fabrics originally dyed in the Kobayashi Somekoubou laboratory of the town of Tango, in Kyoto but also a dress that perfectly represents Japan and its tradition. You cannot miss this opportunity, enjoy the vision of this MANAKA kimono dress at the Salone del Mobile 2020!

Collaboration between MANAKA and KOBAYASHI SOMEKOUBOU

Fabric but also dye. The MANAKA Phoenix Kimono dress is special for various reasons. Let’s go into more detail.

Silk as a fabric is very important, but MANAKA wanted to make the Kimono Phoenix dress even more special and unique! For this reason, the brand started a collaboration with a laboratory in Tango (Kyoto), famous for its fabrics and for its ability in dyeing silk with over 35 years of experience. All this creates the “Tango-Chirimen” and the original fabric of the MANAKA clothes is treated with the “Tango Blue” dyed by the hand of Tomohisa Kobayashi. Thanks to this collaboration, MANAKA has decided to produce kimono and kimono-poncho clothes.

It is probably the first “Tango Blue” fabric in the kimono sector and this is the first time that this fabric has been used for a dress. As we said at the beginning, tradition and modernity together.

“Tango Blue” is the infinite and unique color of the Tango ocean, north of Kyoto, a tint with a level of robustness greater than 4 which, however, can be seethrough, intense and brilliant. The result of a great study and the experience of the Kobayashi Somekoubou studio.

MANAKA clothes in detail

Monochrome Phoenix Dress, World Supermodel Japan
Model / YUIKO Photographer / Chiaki Oshima

Phoenix Dress, the dancing phoenix

Always synonymous of freedom and movement, here is another work of art that is anything but static, on the contrary, it seems alive. A Phoenix dancing elegantly in the Japanese tradition, with decorations reminiscent of the Phoenix feathers put together in the fabric of the Kimono. The phoenix is the symbol of rebirth and who better than this legendary animal can embody the tradition that comes back to life in a new form? This is one of the feelings with which MANAKA dresses women, making them unique and elegant.

Phoenix Dress red & black
Modella / Hiro Nishiuchi Photographer / Chiaki Oshima

Goldfish dress, goldfish that swim

A work of art in motion, born from the feeling of wanting to wear tradition with a new shape. The elements of the kimono are decomposed and recomposed in a completely new design. When worn, it moves harmoniously, it is something that you can feel as if it was alive and that makes the wearer even more beautiful. The woman’s body and its curves are respected and not only! Also exalted in a vortex of delicate movements that convey the burst of Japan’s history. You can not remain unnoticed with such a dress, it will surely make you regal and recognizable in any situation.

In fact, you can already see this from the photos, the movement that the elegant folds make on the woman’s body. Everything speaks of revisited tradition, of history in our time that we now have the good fortune to wear. This dress was designed and created so that the woman could walk like a goldfish moving its delicate and elegant fins in a river caressed by the wind.

Goldfish dress
Model / Mayuko Sakurano – Photographer / Chiaki Oshima

Kimono Poncho

This Poncho, it’s actually a Kimono brought to new life, with a mix of elegance, tradition and sensuality. In fact, one can only feel special and observed while wearing it. Look at the movements of the fabric and try them on, it will fascinate you with respect and elegance giving you the feeling of living in history.

HEEL GETA Flower & HEEL GETA Kimono Haikara

An outfit is not complete without the right shoes. Tradition must be completely revisited, therefore MANAKA has also thought of the famous Japanese wooden clogs, obviously revisited in modernity. HEEL GETA Flower and HEEL GETA Kimono Haikara are perfectly created with the fabric of the kimono, pure silk and vintage feathers.

Heels and soles are handmade by MANAKA craftsmen one at a time. All this great work and deep feeling to give a soft and feminine silhouette. These shoes are created not only to be spectacular but also to be comfortable and easily adaptable to any foot. Thanks to these special flip-flops that grasp the instep perfectly, we will even forget that they are shoes with heels while we wear them. The Getas are designed to be elegant and make the wearer feel comfortable. It is an elegant comfort to wear, worthy of a Japanese outfit and still alive in the hearts not only of the nostalgic but also of those who love modernity.

MANAKA wants to fascinate your interest in the culture and tradition of the Kimono, this brand wants to give you a dress that can be worn easily and beautifully without the difficulty that once existed.

Harmony, tradition, elegance, movement, life. Here’s what moves the ropes of MANAKA! Do you want to see the return of tradition? See it take on a new life? Don’t miss this opportunity, MANAKA awaits you at the Salone del Mobile 2020 in Milan with its unique clothes, the Tango Chirimen fabric and the Tango Blue! Also, you can find MANAKA articles at TENOHA & | SHOP, Japan and the Japanese tradition are here!