My blog would not be complete without continuing the long standing theme of “Jungle January” for the first month of every year. This year, my new obsession for redeeming turtlenecks happened to coincide with my new found appreciation for the designer Kenzō Takada.
To go from sewing two modern turtlenecks to trying out a vintage one was a natural progression for me. Taking the next step to sew a full dress version of a turtleneck was exciting for me and fun to add to my wardrobe. Early in 2024, while planning my wardrobe for an upcoming ski trip to Colorado, I dove into my stash’s second official 1970s era Kenzō design, acquired through Butterick’s “Young Designer” line of sewing patterns. This not only was a great way to prepare for my summer 2024 project of crafting a Kenzō couture tunic (posted here), but it helped me explore the controversial “Jungle Jap” label that gained Kenzō fame.
To take on such inspiration as mentioned above along with my long-standing love for re-fashioning, fondness for fun accessorizing, and my weakness for animal prints set this project up to be a winning combination. A little skirt I used to enjoy but have not worn in years became just the thing for a quick and useful project to whittle down my unused clothing count and add more pizazz to my closet. This vest turns my turtleneck dress into a set that shows how I approach my winter wardrobe…with an element of chic boldness and a sense of style not hindered by the cold, but only the reaches of my imagination.
THE FACTS:
FABRIC: A Tencel Lyocell Sweater Ribbing from Lyrical Fabrics on Etsy was used for the turtleneck dress and a stretch cotton Merona (Target) brand skirt was used for the vest, and it came lined in a polyester satin.
PATTERN: Butterick #6794, by Kenzo, year 1972, a vintage original pattern from my personal stash, and a Burda Style #104 “Reversible Waistcoat” pattern from April 2017 magazine.
NOTIONS NEEDED: lots of thread
TIME TO COMPLETE: The dress and the vest were finished in about 10 hours for each and both were sewn in January 2024.
THE INSIDES: The rib knit doesn’t fray and so the edges – even the hems – are left raw for a beautifully loose and soft finish that is still clean. The vest is fully lined so all raw edges are covered.
TOTAL COST: As the vest comes from a skirt that was a thrift shop find (bought for a few dollars) about 15 years ago, I am counting it as free by now. The dress’ fabric was my only expense – about $40 for a yard and a half.
The “Jungle Jap” label was Kenzō’s preliminary name to fame starting in 1970. “I wanted to blend the two things I loved – the jungle and Japan (his home country),” said Kenzō explaining the brand name to the press. He painted the walls of his tiny boutique in Paris with his own version of the lush and vibrant Rousseau painting from 1910, The Dream. “Jungle Jap” was a success in Europe and took off quickly until the pejorative connotations behind his label hit a sour note with the American market. In 1976, he switched the name of his brand to be self-titled. “‘Kenzo’ wasn’t considered a Japanese brand. It was a European brand made by a Japanese designer” says Fukushima Sunao, the curator of the Tokyo Opera Art Gallery in Japan, which recently hosted an exhibit on his life story. Such a perception of himself became the source for his eclectic, global worldview on fashion. However, the many ‘firsts’ in fashion which he achieved in the name of his Japanese heritage, only add to his acclaimed seat as one of the great designers in couture history.
The pattern I used, being from 1972, is firmly in Kenzō’s “Jungle Jap” era, and thus I find it so interesting that the brand was left off of the Butterick envelope. The cover highlights his name only, unlike the Betsey Johnson “Young Designer” pattern (which I posted here) from 1972 which does advertise for her “Alley Cat” line. Perhaps the missing nod to “Jungle Jap” is a detail which shows how the American market very selectively appreciated what Kenzō had to offer. I wonder if Butterick made the choice to ignore his chosen brand title in order to continue selling his designs or was this a licensing decision made on Kenzo’s end? My particular pattern is even more curious in light of the fact that the three preceding pattern numbers, also Kenzō designs, all carry a sneaky connotation to his brand label by adding “J.A.P” on their covers (see them here on the Wiki Pattern Archive). It is odd that only a handful carry the full provenance when Kenzō offered almost 50 different pattern offerings in total through Butterick. He was very generous and prolific at sharing his styles with home seamstresses!
The tissue pieces needed no alteration for this dress to fit me. I only added about twelve inches of length to extend the hem and bring the design beyond being a top. The fact that I was using a knit fabric further helped the pattern work for me even though it was technically a size too small for my measurements according to the pattern’s chart. I knew, however, that Kenzō preferred loose fitting garments. After understanding the designer’s approach to his fashion offerings, and measuring the tissue pattern to find finished garment sizing, I suspected the pattern ran a bit roomy.
I was correct! Butterick’s “Young Designer” line again shows itself to be consistently true to a featured creator’s sizing preferences, setting these patterns up to be a truly authentic reproduction (which I discuss in this post). A snug form fit is necessary when using a rib knit, and so I kept to the smaller size of the pattern to end up with a dress that fits me perfectly.
In my experience, the “Young Designer” vintage Butterick patterns seem to be catered to petite or teenage sizing, which works well for my petite frame. If I am working with a woven, non-stretch material I may still have to adjust the proportions, nevertheless. Here, however, I was working with a knit in a dress that has no defined waist or hip line. This helped me use the pattern as it was yet again without needing modifications. You see, this short-lived vintage pattern line from Butterick is not primarily about whether the featured designer is young (Kenzō was 32 in 1972) but that he or she creates an aura of youthfulness with their brand to be the current popular style for many minors. It is all about the styling here which makes this design look more adult than juvenile on me, but this also goes to show how versatile a turtleneck can be for all ages across the decades.
My turtleneck dress may not be a crazy floral or combination of prints as many of his “Jungle Jap” clothes are. Nevertheless, it is a saturated tone such as Kenzō would prefer, glowing blue in a color that is as unique as the material itself. The seller’s summary from the listing for my fabric is a good description of all the lovely qualities for which I adore wearing this fabric. “Made in the US using closed-loop Tencel Lyocell, our Sweater Ribbing has a very fluid drape characteristic of members of the rayon family. Luxuriously soft to the touch, it has a sweater-like feel and look, but is not as structured and thick as cotton sweaters of the same weight. Use this fabric to make garments that are both form fitting and have movement: think of a knit dress with a fitted bodice and an A-line skirt. The fabric will drape against your body in an effortless and elegant way. At 11 oz/sq yard, it is a heavyweight knit to keep you comfy yet warm in the cold months ahead.”
Kenzō insisted on using fabrics that had high quality, comfy softness, and lots of draping capabilities, as is seen in the way his “Jungle Jap” clothes seem ‘broken in’ on models in old runway images. This wonderful fabric fits that bill perfectly and the dress I made of it immediately feels like an old favorite piece to wear.
However, Kenzō widely used cotton for his designs and my turtleneck dress, when worn alone, was rather plain. I added a little extra flair to my ensemble by changing up the style of a cute little cotton print skirt on hand. I have been wanting an excuse to sew this design ever since the vest caught my eye in my Burda Style magazine as part of the matching ensemble to this denim skirt (which is posted here). The pattern pieces for the vest were just small enough to fit on my refashion item, as long as I folded out the center back box pleat between the shoulders. If that back box pleat was all that was sacrificed for the skirt to turn into a vest, then I was fine with that compromise to the design.
I cut the pieces out of the skirt as one with the attached lining underneath so as to make efficient use of both time and material. I had no plans on actually making this vest reversible so I merely finished off the arm edges with bias tape inside. The outer edges are professionally turned inside the lining since those areas are visible when worn. I love the extended front shoulder seams and the great fit. It stays in place on the body and has the tailoring which reminds me of a vintage bolero (such as this one that I made years back).
The vest has already seen more use in this incarnation than it ever did as a skirt! To prove to you how versatile this vest really is for me, I’ll show that I not only wore it with my sweater dress for our trip, but also used it on our hike down to a beautiful Colorado creek. I paired it with a store bought turtleneck and my brown wool refashioned skirt (posted here). Even a little lightweight vest like this is my friend when I need layers that help me balance the changing temperatures of a mountain region. I became warm from hiking but was sheltered from the wind down by the creek and so a vest was precisely what I needed to keep from either overheating or getting a chill. Yet, I could still look cute for visiting with friends out at a restaurant later that day. A vest is a great little piece which can tie an outfit together with minimum fuss. A vest is definitely another item, like a turtleneck, that I remember being popular when I a kid, and yet I never enjoyed them as much I do now. The way I am wearing these garments today redeems them anew in my mind, which is quite rewarding.
In old interviews, Kenzō had said things along the line of making high-end fashion accessible, relevant, fun, and affordable enough to be enjoyed by more than just a limited few people. Designer sewing patterns, whether they be vintage or contemporary, certainly give all of those benefits! The best handmade clothes are the ones you reach for when it’s time to do anything from big plans to everyday activities, and to have sewn my own designer clothes to work for me like this is exhilarating. No doubt Kenzō would love to hear that I have brought his fashion into the special and the everyday parts of my life by using his patterns. By the time I am writing this post I have also sewn the cute jumper which is part of the same pattern from which my turtleneck came from. I can’t wait to show you how I interpreted Kenzō’s jumper into rugged overalls!
This post’s outfit is a very eclectic way to understand Kenzō. The dress reminds me of the way he loved a basic chunky collared turtleneck. So many pictures of him throughout the time period of his ‘’Jungle Jap” line show Kenzō in a turtleneck, even if under a dress shirt. When he arrived in Paris he found it cold and dreary compared to Japan, so a turtleneck became his personal look. I might not appear be channeling his brand too strongly here, even though the pattern does come from one of his official Butterick releases. Turtleneck dresses and tops in solid colors are hiding as a layering piece under most of his brand’s more colorful garments. However, I am trying to imitate Kenzō’s individual style.
The animal print vest is the extra honorary nod in this set to strongly refer to his old brand’s original name, the one that gave him the inspiration for his designs. This is my first vest to be a product of a refashion! Paired with my first turtleneck dress, it makes for a new and interesting way for me to approach a designer outfit. I have turned a top pattern into a dress and a skirt into a waistcoat (as Burda calls the vest)! My fashion sense may be backwards or at least unexpected, but it works for me. Who knows what I will come up with for next year’s “Jungle January”?
seamracer.wordpress.com 