Fluid and fashionable: V&A shakes up image of 'traditional' kimono

Exhibition shows off rich history of Japanese garment in all its three-dimensional glory

More than 100 kimonos, from Freddie Mercury’s favourite cherry-blossom-pink lounging robe to gold-embroidered ceremonial silks worn by Japanese samurai, are to go on display this Saturday in a major exhibition entitled Kimono: Kyoto to Catwalk at the V&A in London.

The exhibition, which also includes original Star Wars film costumes and designs by Yves Saint Laurent, John Galliano and Alexander McQueen, begins in Edo-period Japan: walls are painted in a shade called “green tea” and fluttering white noren, the traditional fabric room-dividers that hang in the doorways of shops and restaurants in Japan, hover above the 400-year-old antique kimonos.

Kimono: Kyoto to Catwalk opens on 29 February at the V&A in London