Kim Kardashian: Blasted by Japanese for Naming her New underwear line KIMONO

by Peter Gabriel on June 27, 2019 in Entertainment News, Kim Kardashian

Kim Kardashian is no stranger to controversy but we bet she never saw this one coming.

The reality Tv star's newest venture is the shapewear had described as ‘inclusive and celebrates and enhances the shape and curves of women’, but the Japanese are not having it.

The Japanese kimono, traditionally a loose long-sleeved robe typically tied with a sash, dates back to 15th Century Japan and is mostly worn during special occasions.

Kim Kardashian’s use of the name for her shapewear has been termed ‘disrespectful’.

“We wear kimonos to celebrate health, growth of children, engagements, marriages, graduations, at funerals. It’s celebratory wear and passed on in families through the generations,” one Japanese woman, Yuka Ohishi, told the BBC.

“This shapewear doesn’t even resemble a kimono – she just chose a word that has Kim in it – there’s no respect to what the garment actually means in our culture.” She continued.

Kardashian West, who trademarked the Kimono brand last year in the US, has also filed trademarks for “Kimono Body“, “Kimono Intimates” and “Kimono World“.

Many people have taken issue with the fact that she trademarked a word of huge cultural significance in Japanese culture. Others were annoyed that the traditional garment now shares the same name as an intimate wear brand.

Using the hashtag #KimOhNo, they have taken to social media to protest the use of the name ‘Kimono’ which they described as a ‘disrespect to their traditional clothing’.

See some of the tweets below:

@TrinityNYC wrote: Absolutely tasteless and awful. You have ZERO respect to the Japanese culture, do you. What’s wrong with you. I’m from Japan. For us, Kimono represents the beauty & elegance of the country’s tradition. Your spandex underwear brand has nothing to do with it. I’m offended.

@bunkaiwa wrote: I feel very sad that the name “Kimono” is being used to something completely different from what we Japanese know about it. Kimono is Japanese traditional clothes and we are very proud of its history and culture. I’m sorry but I feel this name choice is simply ignorant. #KimOhNo

@yukokato1701 wrote: Nice underwear, but as a Japanese woman who loves to wear our traditional dress,👘 kimono, I find the naming of your products baffling (since it has no resemblance to kimono), if not outright culturally offensive, especially if it’s merely a word play on your name. Pls reconsider