What is modest fashion?
Modest fashion is a broad term for dressing that keeps skin covered and does not over-emphasise the lines of the body. “Modest” means restrained, unassuming.
It is often assumed to be religious dress, but the idea is much wider. Some people choose it out of faith; others for sun or air-conditioning, because it fits regardless of body shape, or simply because they like the silhouette. Loose garments, long sleeves and hems, layering, styling with a scarf or shawl — these are all expressions of modest fashion.
A global movement
Over the past decade modest fashion has grown quickly within the global fashion industry. Modest Fashion Weeks are held in London, Dubai, Jakarta and Istanbul, and major brands run dedicated lines. It is a market that continues to expand.
Behind this is not only the growth of buyers in Southeast Asia and the Middle East, but a wish — shared worldwide, across religions — for more clothing that does not put the body on display.
Modest fashion in Japan
The term may still be unfamiliar in Japan, but traditional Japanese dress is modest by nature. The kimono does not reveal the body’s lines or expose skin; it shows beauty through the shape of the cloth. Individuality is expressed through the colour of the obi and the layers, and through the meaning of the pattern — a way of thinking that sits very close to modern modest fashion.
WATASI JAPAN takes this modesty of Japanese dress as its starting point.
Where WATASI JAPAN stands — FUTURE × ETHICAL × MODEST
We think about modest fashion along three lines.
- FUTURE — giving new life to sleeping kimono and carrying the culture on to the next generation
- ETHICAL — upcycling genuine vintage kimono; the handwork of women artisans in Fukushima, in cooperation with local garment workshops and a welfare facility
- MODEST — wearable regardless of religion or nationality; figurative motifs removed, only botanical, geometric and natural patterns chosen
What we make is not “religious clothing” but fine cloth garments, made by Japanese artisans, that anyone can wear. It just happens to reach people all over the world who are looking for a modest way to dress.
Our three promises
FUTURE — carrying what we inherit on to the next age
A kimono someone once wore with care is taken fully apart, and its cloth is remade into a new garment for the women, men and children living now.
Rather than making the kimono “a thing of the past”, we carry it into the future, changing its form as we go. This is WATASI JAPAN’s upcycling.
ETHICAL — for the makers, the wearers and the earth
The skill of the artisans who have supported Japanese making. We want to pay that work its proper value, and deliver carefully tailored things at a fair price.
Not making cheaply, using briefly and discarding — but making something good, and using it with care, for a long time. The maker can take pride in it, and the buyer is glad of it. And keeping a still-usable kimono in use, rather than throwing it away, is a kindness to the environment too.
The “ethical” WATASI JAPAN believes in means caring for people, for things, and for the earth.
MODEST — carrying a beauty of restraint out into the world
Showing skin is not the only kind of beauty.
The kimono, too, is a garment that has made its wearer beautiful while wrapping the body. And the patterns drawn on a kimono have carried wishes — for happiness, long life, prosperity — for the wearer and for those they love.
Islamic modest fashion, and the Japanese kimono. However cultures and religions differ, there is a shared spirit here: restraint, consideration for others, and dressing with beauty.
We deliver the “beauty of restraint” that Japan has inherited to the world, in a new form.
It begins with knowing
Founder Junko Nawa spent a year in Malaysia on a university internship, sharing daily life with women who lived in hijab. From that experience she holds to the idea that prejudice is born of not knowing.
We fear what we do not know; we misunderstand what we have never met. That is exactly why bringing two beautiful things together can be a doorway to knowing each other’s cultures in a positive way. The meeting of the kimono and modest fashion is one such attempt.
→ Read more in WATASI STORY
WATASI JAPAN modest wear
| Category | What it is | More |
|---|---|---|
| Kimono hijab & shawls | One-of-a-kind hijab and shawls tailored from kurotomesode | About the kimono hijab |
| Kimono abaya & kimono robe | An abaya that completes a look on its own; a robe-style overlayer | About the kimono abaya & robe |
| Inner hijab | The under-layer for a hijab — holds the hair and smooths the surface | About the inner hijab |
All are made from genuine vintage kimono silk, tailored piece by piece by women artisans in Fukushima. Quantities are limited.
Where to buy
WATASI JAPAN pieces are available in the official online store, shipping to more than 50 countries. There are also stockists.
→ Stockists (HALAL-Ya, Asakusa / JAPANeid, Osaka)