SMITHSONIAN
Pink Silver Brocade Jacket with Frog Closures
2000s · 1990s · Asian-inspired
Production
ready-to-wear
Material
silk brocade
Culture
Asian-inspired
Movement
Orientalism · Y2K
Influences
Chinese qipao jacket · Japanese haori styling
A cropped jacket featuring wide, kimono-style sleeves that extend horizontally from the body. The garment is constructed from silk brocade in a soft peach-pink base with metallic silver and gold thread creating an abstract floral or leaf pattern throughout. Five traditional Chinese frog button closures run down the center front, made from matching fabric cord. The jacket has a mandarin collar and hits at approximately waist length. The sleeves are dramatically wide and short, creating a distinctive T-shaped silhouette when laid flat. The brocade weaving creates subtle texture and shimmer across the surface, typical of Asian-inspired fashion popular in 1990s Western wear.
jacketloose fithigh neckhip length
Connected To
Movement·Orientalism
SHARED150 years · cross-culture · cross-category
That crimson paisley shawl carries the Victorian obsession with Kashmir's teardrop motifs, its intricate borders speaking the language of British colonial desire for Eastern exoticism. Fast-forward 150 years to this peachy silk jacket with its frog buttons and phoenix brocade, and you're seeing the same Western fascination with Asian aesthetics, just filtered through early-2000s spa culture instead of Empire romanticism.
Echoes Across Time
Victorian Early / Crinoline → 2000s · 150yr57%
SHARED
That crimson paisley shawl carries the Victorian obsession with Kashmir's teardrop motifs, its intricate borders speaking the language of British colonial desire for Eastern exoticism. Fast-forward 150 years to this peachy silk jacket with its frog buttons and phoenix brocade, and you're seeing the same Western fascination with Asian aesthetics, just filtered through early-2000s spa culture instead of Empire romanticism.
Movement·Orientalism
Edwardian → 2000s · 90yr56%
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