Fashionable pilgrims: Rental and second-hand kimono shops styling paths of new embodied communities

Ever since the Meiji period, kimono has been commodified — nationally and internationally as Japanese national dress, symbolising Japan a land full of exquisite, exotic traditions. While production is now in decline, its image still thriving, actively promoted marketed to attract tourists domestic international ones alike quest an “authentic”, sometimes premium, experience. As result, consumed by visitors Japan, especially emblematic “traditional” Kyoto, becomes object that can be placed at nexus content fashion tourism well pilgrimage, with rental practices or second-hand purchases employing similar liminal dynamics. This article analyses interactions entertains between design marketing, experience global consumerism, pilgrimage; mapping different territories shared pilgrims their communitas first looking contents secondly, / object.