Women's Koi Kimono Jacket 'Murasaki'

Two koi leaping under a red sun, purple waves at the hem, black or white

The purple is the surprise. Most koi prints end in blue water; this one ends in a band of deep violet waves along the hem and around each cuff, white foam curling on top. Above it, two koi leap in grey and lilac, one on each side of the back, scales drawn fish by fish, while a large red sun sits between them at the shoulders with white cranes crossing it. Grey line waves curl up the fronts and the sleeves. Small red dots drift across the ground like spray. It is a classic composition, sun above, fish below, given one unexpected colour.

It comes in two grounds. On black, the red sun and the violet hem are the two events, and the koi read silver. On white, the print becomes a scroll painting, the grey fish and the grey waves drawn on paper, with the purple hem as the one saturated colour. Same picture, two papers.

The name, Murasaki, is the Japanese word for purple, the colour that was once reserved for the court and for the writer who used it as her name. On this jacket it is the water the fish are climbing out of.

It is printed, not embroidered, with the scales of the koi and the curls of the waves both drawn in fine line, and the red of the sun kept flat and clean. The cloth is a light polyester with a smooth surface and a soft drape, chosen because a print with this much fine line needs a smooth ground, 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 red circle, two fish and a purple hem. At thirty centimetres the koi have whiskers, the cranes have legs, and the foam on the purple waves has been drawn curl by curl. It is a jacket for someone who likes a koi print but has seen the blue ones.

The cut is a short open kimono jacket for women, relaxed through the body and easy at the shoulder. Over a white tee, the white column and the white cranes rhyme. Over black, the black version becomes one shape with the sun and the hem floating on it. It goes with black trousers, white trousers, dark denim, 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.