Gold Line Crane Kimono Jacket 'Kinpa'

Cranes drawn in gold line over gold waves, on black or on white

The waves on this jacket are drawn with a single gold line and nothing else. No blue, no foam, no fill: just the curve of each swell traced in gold across the hem and around the cuffs, with a moon outlined the same way low on the back. Above the water, cranes in cream and white, their feathers picked out in gold line too, their crowns red, one spread wide across the upper back and the others rising at the sleeves and the fronts. A few gold clouds. That is the whole design, and on black it looks like lacquer with gold laid into it.

It comes in two grounds. Black is the evening version, where the gold reads as gold and the cream cranes float on the dark. White is the daylight version, where the cranes go tonal, cream on white, and the gold line becomes the only thing drawn on the jacket, like a sketch on paper. Same drawing, two moods.

The name, Kinpa, means golden waves, the phrase for moonlight breaking on water at night, and it names the line work exactly: gold where the light touches the water, black where it does not.

It is printed, not embroidered, and the gold is printed as a warm metallic tone rather than a foil, so it will not crack or lift. The cloth is a light polyester with a smooth surface and a soft drape, chosen because fine line work needs a smooth ground to stay unbroken, 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 or white jacket with pale birds on it. At thirty centimetres the gold line appears, every feather, every curve of water, every ring of the moon, and the jacket becomes a drawing. It is the most refined crane piece in the range and the one to wear when the occasion is a dinner rather than a Saturday.

The cut is a short open kimono jacket, relaxed through the body and easy at the shoulder. Over a black tee with the black version, the whole outfit becomes one dark shape with gold and cream moving on it. Over white with the white version, it goes tonal and the red crowns are the only colour. It goes with black trousers, cream trousers, and plain shoes in either.

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.