About KimonoChic

Kimonochic.com, owned by artist and designer Catalina Arocena, features a line of unique scarves and shawls made with exquisite fabrics that were once part of traditional Japanese kimono.

Arocena has long had an affinity for oriental art, but her interest in vintage and antique Japanese textiles was piqued a few years years ago when, almost by accident, she discovered a collection of about 40 kimono stored and subsequently forgotten in her mother-in-law's basement. Intrigued, she took them home. "Most of the kimono had some form of minor damage here and there", says Arocena about the discovery. "That's what made it easy for me to dare take them apart and start playing with the remaining sections of fabric, imagining what they could become.”

Now after years of studying and examining thousands of kimono
Arocena, with her artist's eye, still plays with sections of fabric,
imagining and executing unique and innovative designs.