Big in Japan: how an Argentine musician turned hand-painted kimonos into a hit

Singer-songwriter and painter Alfonso Barbieri has not only struck gold with his wild kimono designs, but has also exhibited his work twice in Japan, where his paintings and kimonos received rave reviews. An Argentine captivating Japanese audiences with kimonos, indeed.

Meanwhile, the Argentine artist was also signing a deal in 2023 with Spanish-based record company Club del Disco to produce and distribute his latest two albums. The label financed a top-notch production in Los Angeles, featuring Oscar-winner Gustavo Santaolalla, folk-rock pioneer León Gieco, respected engineer and producer Aníbal Kerpel, and spoken word passages performed by artist Renata Schussheim.

It all began during the 2020 pandemic, when Barbieri and his partner Sofía Bergallo decided to paint T-shirts together, applying the Surrealist movement’s “exquisite corpse” technique. She painted with watercolors during daytime, and he added drawings in Indian ink at night, either continuing her ideas or taking them in a completely different direction.

A year later, they began using the same process for kimonos, offering them through their small Instagram account @sofiayalfonso. 

“It was crazy how quickly we got more and more orders, until it became really huge, perhaps because they’re unique pieces that an online marketplace like Temu can’t make,” says Barbieri.

Some designs feature photographs of artists such as Cuchi Leguizamón, Nelly Omar, Sophia Loren, or Ray Harryhausen, as well as figures such as Diego Maradona and Eva Perón. Suddenly, the kimonos began to appear on the social media accounts of local actresses like Dolores Fonzi, Julieta Díaz and Cecilia Roth, who even wore one in a production at Teatro Cervantes.

“We were even contacted by popular YouTubers like Paulina Cocina and musicians such as Litto Nebbia, who asked us to make pieces for him to wear on tour”, adds Barbieri.

In 2023, they were invited by the Argentine embassy in Japan to exhibit their artwork and kimonos at gallery Design Festa and the Okappa Chan House atelier. Every piece was accompanied by a song or poem, providing each kimono with its own narrative.

“There was a huge response to the two exhibitions and it became a sensation,” Barbieri told the Herald. “Japanese audiences were very struck by the sense of humor, for example the painting of a geisha playing basketball with a panda bear. They told us that no modern Japanese visual artist had ever done anything with kimonos in this way, turning them into something kitsch or pop. They were very grateful and impressed,” he added.

They now offer more than 80 designs, priced at AR$ 78,000 (US$50).

“As visual artists, it’s an unusual way of showing your work. You put characters into a collage on a piece of clothing that suddenly becomes popular. And it isn’t even an Argentine poncho, but something from another country on the other side of the world,” says Barbieri.

The music

Alfonso Barbieri began releasing solo albums in 2001, often featuring popular Argentine rock artists, such as Babasónicos frontman Adrián Dárgelos, Hilda Lizarazu, and Kevin Johansen.

His songs span a wide range of styles, from folklore to rock, glam, cuarteto, and heavy metal, all with a cinematic feel and pop structures.

His latest albums were “Si Dios clonase pan” (If God made bread), released in 2024, and this year’s “Nubosidad bailable” (Danceable cloudiness), both under Club del Disco, that undertook distribution in Japan, U.S., and Europe. They suggested that “Nubosidad…” be released in vinyl as well, so Alfonso decided to include a 3-D lenticular artwork on the cover.

The recording was produced in L.A. with Grammy winner Aníbal Kerpel and features Oscar and Grammy-winning musician Gustavo Santaolalla, Argentine rock icon León Gieco, and literary sensation Mariana Enríquez.

“It’s a summary of who I am at age 50,” says Barbieri, who proudly adds that in April he will showcase the songs in Barcelona and Madrid, before heading to Berlin to record a new album at the historic Hansa Studios, where his idol David Bowie made landmark albums.

But before that, he will perform in Buenos Aires on September 12 at cultural center Roseti (Gallo 764, Abasto). “It will be the first time I play the new songs live,” he says.