Poison is a project by the joung Sicilian stylist Eugenia Marescalco.

After attending a prestigious tailoring school in Catania she travelled to Japan where the elegant and sophisticated Kimonos caught her attention. So she decided to rework a Western version of  traditional Japanese clothing.

Thus the Poison project is born, looking at traditional craftsmanship as a way to establish a connection between different cultures.

But what to do to build an imaginary bridge between Sicily and Japan? The answer is in the choise of raw material: pure silk 100% Made in Italy.

So the shape and material of the garments remind their eastern origins while the bright coloured patterns are tipically Sicilians. The end result is a strictly handmade and unique creation.

Some interesting facts

“Kimono” was the Japanese word for “clothing” (ki “wear” and mono “thing”). At first,during the Heian Period, Kimono was  a simple apron (mo) and people used to wear it with the Chinese hakama (a clothing similar to trousers).

During the Edo Period, after Kimono became an every day clothing, it turned into a fashion item, wich provided the exclusion of the hakama and the introduction of a sash called obi, to keep the additional layers closed.

Both men and women wore Kimono, matching colours to evoke nature and Seasons or to represent the status to which one belonged. Even warriors and Samurai wore Kimono, in colours representing their leaders or domain.

Patterns and colours matches were ruled by so many strict laws  that Japanese preferred to get closer to Western-style clothes.

Nowadays , Japanese only wear it in some special occasions or festivals but Kimono still remains a glamorous piece of art.