Revivá

At the heart of Revivá lies a simple belief – fashion should evolve with its wearer. Our tastes, moods, and identities shift over time, yet most clothing remains unchanged. This collection challenges that idea, showing how garments can grow, adapt, and carry new meaning as we do.

Rooted in the principles of slow fashion, Revivá values creativity over perfection, reuse over replacement, and the emotional connection between people and the clothes they inhabit. It is an exploration of how art can give new life to what was once forgotten.

Revivá is a concept collection dedicated to the revival of ten authentic Japanese kimonos.

Garments discovered in second-hand shops across Japan and brought to Latvia for transformation. Each kimono carries the craftsmanship and quiet history of its origins, now reimagined as a piece of wearable art. The journey from Japan to Latvia symbolizes a bridge between heritage and reinvention, between tradition and the contemporary moment.

The Process.

In her Latvian studio, designer Karina Kelle reimagines every kimono through an intuitive process that merges tailoring and painting.

Traditional silhouettes are reshaped – hems become asymmetric, sleeves shortened, seams redefined – giving each piece new character and flow.

The fabric then becomes a living canvas. Karina paints directly on a fabric without sketches or repetition, letting the brush move freely and the paint flow in its own rhythm. Gold calligraphy lines move across the fabric, intersected by expressive white splashes and dribbles of paint.

Finally, each kimono is adorned with pearls, beads, and delicate metal chains, stitched along seams and sleeves. These details add light, movement, and a soft whispering sound – transforming each garment into a sensory experience.

ABOUT THE DESIGNER

Karina Kelle is a Latvian designer and calligrapher who transforms clothing into living canvases. A graduate of the Art Academy of Latvia, she merges artistic discipline with intuition, working freely and directly on fabric – without sketches, without repetition, only presence.

Before founding her label in 2025, Karina spent years in the world of visual design and creative direction, mastering composition, rhythm, and storytelling. Parallel to that, she cultivated modern calligraphy – a craft that became her language of emotion and movement. In her hands, letters are no longer words but gestures; brushstrokes become energy made visible.

Her work bridges structure and chaos, elegance and rebellion. Through gold calligraphy, expressive paint splashes, and hand-placed embellishments, Karina allows intuition to guide the process, letting each piece emerge as a unique, unrepeatable artwork.

Every garment begins as a conversation – with its material, its past, and the person who will one day wear it.

Karina believes clothing should evolve with its wearer. Tastes shift, moods change, identities grow – and so should what we wear. Her creative philosophy is rooted in slow fashion, where garments are not disposable trends but lasting stories. Each piece carries traces of its former life and opens space for a new one, embodying transformation, movement, and renewal.

For Karina Kelle, art is not something you hang – it’s something you live in.
Her creations are tactile, emotional, and unapologetically personal: wearable heirlooms for those who see fashion as a form of expression and self-evolution.

Slow Fashion

Each garment shifts from passive storage to active, meaningful presence.

In Japan, the tradition of the kimono is steeped in craft, history, and careful reuse.¹ Historically, kimonos were not merely worn and discarded; they were handed down, adjusted, repaired, and re-worn across generations.

Now, however, many of these garments are facing an uncertain fate. Despite Japan’s deep respect for clothing as a durable resource, the country still sees very large volumes of textile waste: in 2022, around 730,000 tons of clothing were discarded in Japan, with only about 35 % reused or recycled.²

The conventional path for many obsolete kimonos has shifted from heirloom to landfill or textile waste – a loss of heritage, craft, and resources.³

One estimate suggests that fabrics worth more than 30 trillion yen (≈USD 220 billion) lie unused in wardrobes, ultimately destined for disposal.⁴

At the heart of the REVIVÁ collection lies the belief that fashion should not contribute to waste – it can be a force for renewal.

By sourcing authentic Japanese kimonos from thrift and second-hand stores, bringing them to Latvia, and transforming them into unique wearable art, we interrupt waste cycles and honour both heritage and sustainability.

Through hand-painted calligraphy, expressive brush-work, hand-stitched pearls and chains, each kimono becomes a second life: a piece of textile history given new context, new movement, and new story.

This is slow fashion in practice – where creativity overcomes consumption, uniqueness stands against mass production, and attachments replace disposability.

By wearing a REVIVÁ kimono, one participates in a narrative of reclamation and continuity. This isn’t just fashion – it is a commitment: to the garment’s past, your present, and a future of mindful expression.

Riga Fashion Week Debut

The REVIVÁ collection made its debut at Riga Fashion Week on October 23, inviting guests into an intimate, almost sacred space. To experience a glimpse into the artist’s creative world where forgotten kimonos are reborn.

During the presentation, Karina Kelle painted live on a model, transforming silk through instinctive brushstrokes and flowing gold calligraphy. Around her, ten models emerged slowly into the space, moving with meditative grace – embodying the spirit of renewal. One male model invited guests to participate, offering his kimono as a living canvas and allowing them to experience the act of creation firsthand.

Alongside the kimonos, Karina also customized accessories and garments. Hand-painted handbags, leather skirts and pants, boots, and soft grey T-shirts splashed with black abstract paint. Each item echoed the philosophy of wabi-sabi and the REVIVÁ aesthetic: imperfect, intuitive, and alive with gesture. Together, they formed a dialogue between art and fashion, heritage and rebellion – a living performance of transformation.

The stylist and mentor for the REVIVÁ collection is Alise Zvejsalniece.

The performance culminated in a collective catwalk of eleven kimonos. It was a celebration of art, movement, and rebirth, uniting heritage and modern expression.

Own a Piece of REVIVÁ

The REVIVÁ collection will be soon available for collectors and admirers of wearable art.

Owning a REVIVÁ kimono means becoming part of an ongoing story – continuing the journey of a forgotten garment through your own movement, energy, and presence. Each piece is created slowly and intuitively, guided by emotion and touch rather than design or repetition. Hand-painted, hand-stitched, and reborn from authentic vintage Japanese silk by Karina Kelle, every kimono carries its own pulse – a dialogue between past and present, heritage and rebirth, between tradition and modern rebellion.

Each REVIVÁ kimono embodies a philosophy – a way of seeing beauty not in perfection, but in transformation. Rooted in the Japanese concept of wabi-sabi. It is the appreciation of imperfection, impermanence, and authenticity. The art made in the blink of a moment.

Across the fabric, abstract gold calligraphy flows like movement captured in light, intersected by white paint splashes and spontaneous drips that speak of freedom and impermanence. These gestures are guided by intuition, not plan. All designs written directly onto the fabric without sketches or repetition. The marks of wear, the aged texture of fabric, and the traces of time become part of the composition itself, transforming each kimono into a living canvas. It is a meditation on how beauty evolves through change.

These are not just clothes, but collector’s pieces – wearable artworks that embody the spirit of transformation and sustainability.

To see more process and creation of Revivá collection, follow on the instagram: @reviva.kimono & the designer @karina.kelle

Own a Revivá Kimono

Only 10 originals exist – each crafted exclusively for Riga Fashion Week.
Reach out to purchase or learn more about the available designs.

karina@kelle.ventures

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