The Artist Matinée Duster (Mid Length)

$129.00

We celebrate artists — the ones who break themselves open over and over so they can share their vision with the world. This dreamy, painterly kimono was created by layering works of art from the 1700s— including two painting studies by artist Thomas Gainsborough, and a floral painted wooden frame from the same era by an unknown artist. It’s a piece that feels at once modern and timeless, and utterly unique — just like you.

100% viscose (derived from plant fibres such as wood and bamboo). Machine wash gentle or handwash and hang to dry. Iron to finish if needed.

Kimono measurements: length 78cm, width (across back, underarm to underarm) 74cm. Model is 5’5” for reference.

“I paint my own reality.”
—Frida Kahlo

“Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.”
—Pablo Picasso

“Creativity takes courage.”
—Henri Matisse

How To Wear

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The moody, rich palette of this piece is soaked in golden-hour sunshine. Pair it with deep red, cobalt blue, mustard, brick… so many painterly colours! Wear it over a basic tee with ripped denim and sandals in the summer, and then transition it in to fall with a black turtleneck and boots. We love this one mixed with other prints as well for a true artisan vibe — think paisley and brocade to echo the baroque feel, or a ticking stripe for a rustic French look. Add a pair of big gold hoops, some rings, and a scarf — express yourself like the creative being you are ;)

Our Muse

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The artist, the creative. Women who illuminate the world with their art and their imagination, who dream in colour and inspire others to do the same. 

More Inspo

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The body of this kimono was created from a 1780s study by English painter Thomas Gainsborough, who later developed it in to the famous painting that hangs in the National Gallery, entitled “Mrs. Richard Brinsley Sheridan”. Artists often create these kinds of intricate “studies” (essentially very detailed early sketches) — working through their creative process before they begin the actual painting. We have long been fascinated with the beauty of these studies — works of art in their own right — and this one of Gainsborough’s truly captured us with the woman’s serene yet commanding expression, and the lush, windswept country landscape behind her. If you compare it with Gainsborough’s finished painting you will see how similar, yet how strikingly different, this study is from the final piece. 

Sometimes our creative process is just as beautiful and meaningful as our final results — in art, and in life. 

The Poem

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In dreams she is the start of all roads.
Smile spreading like roots, miracles tangled
behind her eyes in waiting. She is the pause 
before the brush dipped in paint, 
the pen lifted, the deep breath before the beginning.
Bring her bread and pears, salt and a knife,
healed wounds and the fresh heart
of love. She leaves seeds 
behind in her footsteps, unnamed 
weeds and flowers that bloom
in her wake like wild children, all beloved.