Mikan

Bum bag summer looks, or,
“Tell me you live in Japan without telling me”…

I wonder what gives it away the quickest: the long sleeves when it’s 37 degrees outside, the large sunvisor or the unintentional conservative style 🤭

I planned to share one of my recent creation tonight but I just stumbled upon this sunset photo from earlier this month.
Every time I witness a sunset so beautiful I feel so tiny. As a creative I try to add beauty in everything I create but nothing ever beats Nature’s beauty.

Does anyone see a face on this pink sky or is it just me? 🐼

Too often I get caught up in the rhythm of life and I forget to fully appreciate where I live. At least not as much as it deserves. Arashiyama is so pretty and soothing and sometimes I need a reminder that I can also enjoy it as if I were a tourist. And what’s better than an unexpected visiting friend for that 💚

Thank you both 💕

It’s no secret to anyone, I am a little obsessed with floral patterns. Sometimes I wonder why…

Japanese kimono fabrics fascinate me with their perpetual inspiration from nature. As fashion designers (my primary education), we’re expected to constantly anticipate trends and come up with something new, different. But what if we slow down? Instead of chasing new ways to look beautiful for each season, we can look at Nature and her true seasons for inspiration.

With a growing demand for sustainability and durability in our products, I wonder: what is more lasting than natural beauty, cycling through the seasons? A phenomenon that we take for granted but I find fascinating. (I am French living in Japan and I don’t see myself living somewhere with four seasons…)

That’s what drew me to kimonos in the first place ten years ago. They remind me that nature never goes out of style. Japanese aesthetics represent natural elements so beautifully, making them timelessly modern. No wonder Japanese patterns are still a major inspiration for fashion and design. I fell like we are a lot who, whenever in need fresh ideas, turn to traditional Japan, hoping to create something timeless.

Are there any creatives here who can relate in some ways?

📷👘 Photos taken at back in June, where beautiful Kyo-Yuzen kimonos are being created.
Thank you .kobe.guide for the introduction 🤍

🦆🐥 Away from Kyoto with my ducklings

“Never cut into a kimono, Japanese people will hate it”.
Every day, I pat myself for not having listened to this piece of advice 10 years ago.
I also wonder what makes some people think they know what is best for you with such conviction but part of me thinks it is often something they have to fix for themselves. If I met this person again today, or if they ever see this post, I’d love to tell them how deeply happy I am whenever a (Japanese) customers trusts me with their family’s kimono. I truly put my heart in every stitch to transform their precious heirloom into a wearable object.
It didn’t seem so obvious to me 10 years ago but I knew what I wanted then and it is very close to what I have 10 years later 💕

Cheers to not listening 🥂

And cheers to these beautiful photos from whose photos I like so much 🖤 and who managed to make me like myself a little more on photos 🥹

Kumo-tatewaku, the rising clouds.
雲立涌 ☁️
New vintage obi available for custom orders ✨

“New vintage”, how I love it when these two words are shoulder to shoulder 👘♻️👌🏻

Isn’t the reverse side even more beautiful?

May 2024 - Random colors and motifs in an out of the studio 🌿

Stills of the heirloom bum bag from my previous post and the original Obi. It’s definitely one of my favorite obi in my current collection.

You can learn more about this special piece online and even order your own bag made of it ✨

“Postcard bag” ✨🤭

A few obi in my collection represent famous landmarks of Japan. I love the feeling of familiarity when I recognize a place and I have memories attached to it.
And this one is very special to me! I found this obi when I was living in Miyazaki, Kyushu and at the time when I bought it, I had no idea I would be calling Arashiyama home in a few months 💚
This particular landscape also reminds me of the lucky day, back in 2021,when my friend and I had the bamboo grove for ourselves and we would danse under the rain 🌧️

A location might be touristic, sometimes we just have a strong personal memory associated to it.
I hope you’ll find your special obi in my collection m! The one that at first sight reminds you of a special moment in Japan 🇯🇵

Kimono bucket hat 🖤
Hip hip hooray for finalizing a hat sample I started…almost two years ago 🤭

Let’s just say sometimes life (motherhood for a big part) gets in the way and designing new items is rarely on the list of priorities when there are orders to complete, workshops to host, admin to be done etc.
Anyway, I’m excited because I sewed a few samples before getting to the result I wanted and this summer I’ll finally be wearing the hat I wanted 🙌🏻 And I just wanted to brag about it so for a short while I forget how late I am on my schedule this bumpy month 😅

Thanks for letting me 🖤

Travel pouches on the go ✨

Now available for custom orders ! Visit the link in bio or message me to know more 😉

•Mini (21 x 14 cm / 8,2 x 5,5 in)
•Regular (29 x 20 cm / 11,4 x7,8 in)
•Set (mini & regular)

Thanks for everyone who suggested names btw 🤗

Unique wearable souvenirs 👘 ♻️✨
Each Mikan bag is created with a vintage obi or kimono that carries its own story. The hands who wove it, the family who owned it, the celebrations it was worn for, I want to make all of these memories living in the fabric survive in our daily life. Creating functional pieces that can be worn anytime anywhere.

Snip snip snip…
This is the sound of kimono and obi being transformed into new bags! 👘✂️🌸
Cooking a new collection, full of spring flavors.

Available next Sunday :
•in Tokyo: at the Studio Biku pop-up ()
•online: with first access to newsletter subscribers.

We are two weeks away from our 1day pop-up at Studio Bikudesigns! Tokyo friends, I look forward to seeing you there!

Join us at studio Biku in Shimokitazawa, Tokyo for an exclusive one day Spring pop-up with and

This is your opportunity to purchase one-of-a-kind handcrafted vintage obi bags and jewellery.

Sunday 10th March
10:00-16:00
Studio Biku
Kitazawa Copo 10
3-24-2 Kitazawa
Setagaya-ku

Map link and detailed directions available via link in bio.

Last Friday I had the pleasure to witness the preparation of a traditional bridal costume at .
I was lucky enough to see the whole process and watch Chika-san’s skillful hands operating was a real treat. There were also two other pairs of hands to assist her in the hairstyling and the dressing of the kimono, everyone playing their part in a methodical manner. Wrapping the beautiful bride in exquisite antique garments, decorating her hair with delicate objects…The result is truly beautiful and seeing the skills and knowledge that is required for it is only making it more impressive.

On that day, my friend Bobby from was recording carefully and in a few months you’ll be able to watch the whole process as well on his YouTube channel! I’ll share it then, I’m looking forward to see 😊

Thank you for inviting me 🥰

One of the 20 new obi I added throughout January, and maybe my favorite one ♥️

A request to use it has arrived and I can’t wait to work on it…

The full collection is visible from the link in profile > custom order.

I never thought I would witness this one day: a group of individuals playing and ancient style of keepie uppies at a Shinto shrine to amuse the gods ⛩️🏐 Mostly because I never heard of it before!

But what a treat it was, last month, to see them in their beautiful costumes, which are apparently recreated from those worn since the Asuka period (592-710). I guess you can see through my photos that my eyes were attracted by the vibrant colors the textured fabrics and the details of their outfits. Even the ball, made of deer skin, had a very singular look. And it was also very fun to watch.

Thank you my friend for this nice surprise 💕

January dump 👘 🧵🪡✂️ A few projects on my sewing table this month, mostly custom orders ☺️

Did I mention the Deluxe Phone Bag is available for custom orders? ☺️ You can have it made with any obi of my collection , including all the ones you see in my stories that I’m adding daily (and will keep adding thill the end of this month).

More details in the usual place (link in bio > custom order) or comment “phone bag” and ill@send you the link directly 👌🏻

10 years ago, I was a finalist for the Redress Design Award. Last week I was asked to become a mentor for another competitor 🥹 it brought back fond memories of my first trip to Asia as we gathered in Hong Kong for the final to showcase our collections.

Back in 2013 I didn’t have a clear idea of what I wanted to do in 10 years but I knew one thing: I wanted to keep creating and I wanted to keep up-cycling!
And so it seems that 10 years later I am still walking in this direction, and the Eminem-blond me back then would have been very happy to know.

Thanks to all of you who supported me since then and those I met along the way.
To, hopefully, 10 more years of creation! 🤞💕

*The Redress Design Award is organized by
It was then called the Eco Chic Design Award, and I was joining as a UK resident for the few months I lived in London, oops, sorry France! 🇫🇷

The first haori I ever bought for myself, back in 2014.
I remember being drawn by it immediately, I saw it hanging from meters away. The motif and the colors looked so unique. And as often when I see a nice and unexpected color combination on a kimono, I think I would never wear all these colors together but somehow they work perfectly in this garment.Actually, I truly think that wearing kimono, whether it’s the real thing, or just throwing a haori on your shoulder like me, allows you to ‘em wear colors you don’t normally go for.

The sleeves were very long, which makes me think the haori was very old. I trimmed them so it would be more convenient to wear. Unfortunately in 2014 I never thought of documenting a before/after of a garment reconstruction. And the 10 year older me deeply regrets that 🥹
But it was a different time. I was barely using a smartphone then and I’d just created my Instgram account as I moved to Japan. Now both the phone and IG are a big part of my working life, maybe too much some days. But I like being able to capture and share more than before 💕

Sneak peeks of my latest fabric finds while traveling south. ✨👘

Kyoto is great for kimono hunting, but I often found my most favourite pieces driving to random shops in the countryside.

In a way I find it fascinating how such pieces of art, that once were expensive treasures, cherished and cared for by their owners (they wouldn’t be in such good condition otherwise) change status throughout the years and becomes a weight, a burden.
This is a simple result of a consumption-driven society. Transforming the unique and priceless into trash. Of course it’s not all like that, and I’m not here to write a pamphlet on our capitalist world, nor judge anyone, my consumption habits are far from perfect. But I’m asking myself from a philosophical perspective. What does it say about the way we consider the act of creating. About our ability to appreciate the life work and skills of someone we don’t know (we rarely meet the people who make our clothes, right?), and the value we give a piece of clothing. Not its price, its value. The price is ephemeral, the value is the only one that is able to last. The price drops as soon as an object is consumed, used. But the its value, how it makes us look and feel, the reason for us to make this object ours, to think we need it in our lives,this is what I am thinking a lot about these days.

I’m just thinking out loud but thank you for reading. 💓
Any thoughts welcome.

Merry Christmas and happy holidays from somewhere that is not Kyoto. Here, the palm trees upstage the momiji, nature is lush and the brightness of the days wash away the winter blues 🌊
I hope you have a nice end of the year, wherever this finds you 🌏💕

Custom order 🧡
I’m honored that I could create a bag for 🪢 As an arial dancer, Asami chose this obi because it reminds her of the ropes from which she hangs in the air. She sourced this obi by herself and brought it to my studio a couple of months ago. I love discovering new obi that j didn’t find by myself, it’s exciting and it’s different from what I usually select. And in this case there is a beautiful reason behind the choice of fabric.

AND Asumi was so kind to let me keep the rest of the obi so it will be available for custom orders when I update my website (🤞🏻soon), isn’t that so kind?

Thank you 🥰

And just like that, another Autumn has passed 🍂
Here’s some of Taro’s photos from when we played camouflage under the momiji 🍁

This bag is already with her new owner as I write this post 🥰

📣 Friends in Tokyo 📣

Some exclusive designs awaiting for you at in Shimokitazawa🎄
The store will be closing on Dec.15th so don’t miss the chance to support local designers if you’re looking for some unique Japan-made gifts
🎁✨
You’ll also find the lovely works of many other creatives listed below, including jewelry, home decor, illustrations etc.

ya
ward.illustration






lopp.art

Recent custom order for Melanie 🤗 this l lovely is currently in transit for its new home ✈️

Bonus of beloved golden Ginko and clouds sea in the last photo 💛

I am working late on each and every order this month, and I really appreciate everyone’s patience! This time of the year is always so busy, I can’t wait to reset my schedule during the holidays…soon! ☺️

Trying the Mandarin Duck Bumbag today and I love how it brings colors to my autumn outfit 🦆🍂

You can find it in my store from the link in bio.

Biku Designs' Gift guide is out!

The 2023 Gift Edit is LIVE!

Read all about the fabulous items available in Japan...
Gifts for art & interior lovers, snuggly nights in, for crafters, for looking great and getting organised.

Shop small this winter season.

Victoria x

READ THE GIFT EDIT HERE:
https://www.bikudesigns.com/blog/2023-bikudesigns-gift-edit