(You Can't Really) Strike a Pose at the Kobe Fashion Museum

 I don't claim to know a whole lot about fashion, but I enjoy looking at it. I think it would be fun to dress up in period costumes and reenact old customs sometime. You know, historical cosplay. (I'm not talking about Civil War reenactments. Those might be fun too, though.) And while I don't put much thought into my personal fashion choices, I'm admiring or critiquing fashion trends I see on the streets.

image from Kobe Fashion Museum. Note that the museum's layout can change based on the special exhibition content.

The Kobe Fashion Museum's permanent collection display is a sort of Fashion 101, starting with a "History of Fashion" line of clothing along one long wall, with the remaining space divided up into techniques, designers, materials, colors, and structures. A final area has reproductions of the clothing worn at Napoleon I's coronation ceremony. Most of the clothing in this display is modern reproductions, but seem to be authentically constructed... at least, as far as a layman can tell.

Before entering the permanent exhibition, you see the special exhibition hall. On my visit, it was was packed with shoes designed by Takada Kisa. I don't know who that is, but the collection was fairly complete and showed shoes ranging from simple sandals and work shoes to high heels and boots. The museum's website shows other special exhibitions which look like they would have been/are/will be pretty interesting for those who admire clothing.

The museum might be a pilgrimage point for fashion designers given their library of fashion-related holdings, but for average people, unless you're already in Kobe, as I was, you probably won't come out here for a visit.

The Kobe Fashion Museum is located in this spaceship-themed building on Rokko Island. Admission is 500 yen, including both the special and permanent exhibitions. Hours are 10:00-17:00 except Wednesdays. It's located a little out of the way. Take the JR line to Sumiyoshi Station or the Hanshin line to Uozaki Station, and transfer to the Rokko Liner. Get off at Island Center Station and head south-east toward the giant UFO.

The Kobe Fashion Mart is nearby but has limited shopping as far as clothing goes. It seems like there are several stores for interior designers and a few stores for tailor-made suits. There's an art museum, the Koiso Memorial Museum, which mainly has works by Ryohei Koiso, a local artist. I haven't visited it, but there are some very good reviews online.