Flying Crane Kimono Jacket 'Usubeni'

A flock of pale pink cranes covering a black jacket from collar to hem

The cranes on this jacket are not white. They are the pink of the inside of a shell, shaded to cream at the wing and rose at the tail, with red crowns and dark legs, and there are dozens of them, flying in every direction across the sleeves, the fronts and the whole back, so close together that their wings almost touch. Between the birds, small touches of gold. The ground is black and there is not much of it left.

It is the fullest crane print in the collection and the softest in colour: no red sun, no blue wave, no blossom, just birds in a warm pale tone on a dark ground. From a distance it reads as a pattern, like a good scarf. From closer, every bird is drawn: the fan of the tail feathers, the curve of the neck, the legs trailing straight behind.

The name, Usubeni, means pale crimson, the faint pink that was the cheapest of the safflower dyes and the one most people could afford, and it is the colour of every crane on the jacket. It is a gentler name than most in the range and a gentler jacket.

It is printed, not embroidered, with the pink shaded feather by feather and the gold kept to small accents so the birds stay the point. The cloth is a light polyester with a smooth surface and a soft drape, chosen because a print with this much pale colour on black needs a ground that holds the contrast, and because a jacket this light should hang rather than stand. Three-quarter sleeves, open front, no fastening, hem at the hip.

At three metres it is a black jacket with a warm, busy surface. At thirty centimetres it is a flock, and you can pick a favourite bird. Most people find one on the sleeve, where the print is easiest to look at on your own arm.

The cut is a short open kimono jacket, relaxed through the body and easy at the shoulder. Over a white tee, the tee runs pale between the two fronts and cools the pink. Over black, the jacket and the tee become one shape and the cranes fly across all of it, which is the way to wear it in the evening. It goes with black trousers, dark denim, cream in summer, and plain shoes.

It comes in one size, cut to drape with an easy fit. It is Asian sizing, so it sits closer than a Western one-size; if you are usually L or above, expect it to fit close rather than loose.