prototype
brand summary–research
Today many Japanese women may only own yukata and will often rent formal kimono when needed since they are so expensive. A simple yukata, a cotton everyday kimono worn in summer, can cost as little as $30. It will survive repeated washings and does not require lining. Nemaki, lounging yukatas, usually provided for hotel guests and also available at department stores, come pre-sewn and start at less than $20. Usually available in two sizes, they're often worn by the Japanese as pajamas. Each comes with a matching tie belt. The main similarity between yukata and kimono are the accessories. Many of the accessories used for kimonos will also be worn to fancy up a Yukata– although all that’s really needed is an obi to tie it shut.
Luckily, Yukata don’t need to be fitted like kimonos, so they’re easy to quickly pick up at any department store. Most kimonos are made by hand. Silk, the most popular, costs around $800 for an average formal kimono. Total price for accessories and an average silk kimono, including sewing charges, is around $400. An average wool kimono costs around $240, one of cotton is about $40.
Not surprisingly, Sillook, a fairly authentic-looking silk imitation, appeals to many women these days since a kimono fashioned from it costs around $150. Also, secondhand kimono shops are extremely popular and can be found all over Japan.
client profile
Keiko is a brand of leisure wear kimonos, yukata, from America. It adds a dash of modern with newly inspired graphic patterns, recycled fabrics, and natural plant-dyes. Newer sewing techniques add beauty and longevity.
The brand began in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona with the collaboration of an American designer and a Japanese seamstress who wanted to escape the rainy days of Kyoto.
Keiko is in need of a website to market their designs and display their kimonos to the world. The site should target the Japanese buyer who seeks an eco-friendly kimono alternative and loves American brands. It should also speak to Japanese-Americans and those around the world who are interested in functional, daily-wear kimonos.
target audience profile
Keiko's target audience is the environmentally-conscious Asian-American on the west coast who knows the pollution toll the textile industry takes on the planet. They buy organic cotton bath towels, visit the farmers market and meet friends at their favorite sushi bar.
It also encompasses millennial women and men, mothers, kids, female executives, male and female entrepreneurs, social butterflies, artists and designers, and those inclined toward the natural health lifestyle and healing arts. They enjoy style and comfort, form and function.
They meet for casual social gatherings, shopping, grabbing a coffee in the posh hipster neighborhood, and lounging or receiving visitors in the home.
brand positioning statement
Keiko means "sunny child" or "lucky child" and is an ecological, modern leisure-wear designed to lift your mood from the everyday mundane and mediocre.
The brand is clean, simple and balanced, made to stretch and wrap around your moves. Whether bright or serene, it is a refined style which calls for child-like wonder, a sunny disposition and social gathering.
Imagine cherry blossom trees on rainy spring days, the playfulness of Kawaii (the culture of cuteness in Japan), Zen gardens, illuminated lanterns, laughing Buddhas and a dash of Japanese luck. Stroll freely, letting it spread some cheer to your day or enchanting dreams to your night.
comfort
ecological
modern
balanced
happy
mood board
typefaces
colors
site map
