Useum x Japan: Art Anywhere and Everywhere

I’ve always believed that fashion is more than clothing. It’s identity, expression, art. But walking through Japan—especially the tucked-away thrift shops, the tiny studios hidden in alleys, the reworked kimonos hanging on makeshift racks—I felt that truth all over again.

There’s something powerful about seeing tradition made new. Not just for the sake of style or recycling, but to keep a story alive. I saw old garments like kimonos turned into jackets, handkerchiefs, statement pieces that carried so much history—just in a totally new form. That’s what fashion should be. Not just about what’s trending, but about what means something. What says something.

In Japan, people weren’t dressing to impress—they were dressing to express. Confidence everywhere. No rules. Just people telling stories through what they wore.

I ended up thrifting the most amazing piece in Harajuku - one that I loved the second I saw it. But what makes it special isn’t the fit or the color—it’s the memory. Where I found it. What it represents. Now it’s a piece of my story.

That’s the kind of fashion I want Useum to celebrate. The kind that connects you to something bigger. The kind that makes you feel like you—wherever you are in the world.

Because you don’t have to be in a museum to be art. You already are. Anywhere and everywhere you go.

xoxo,

Gabrielle

P.S. — You can watch the video that goes with this story here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=baI5QcQTgOU or over on our Instagram @useum.clothing. Don’t forget to follow + subscribe 💛