I found this lovely book full of public domain examples of Japanese mon (紋). These are symbols, much like European coats of arms, which are used to identify and decorate a person or family.
They are very relevant to the concept of personality and identity expressed through fashion (as are other forms of heraldry), as obviously they are very direct markers of identity which are incorporated into clothing as personal or familial decoration. I am particularly fond of the last page below, which shows various mon with such lovely, sweet depictions of birds.
I'd like to, as a counter to the very symmetrical and neat mon shown here, make some of my own mon designs which are a bit messy, a bit uneven. maybe as a representation of emotional instability, perhaps commenting on the cultural practice of ignoring people's emotional responses because they are uncomfortable to face (and in particular the Britishness of that practice, the frustration that causes, or London as a place in which this is taken to an extreme). I'd like to try making some sort of clothing too, but I'm not sure how realistic an idea that is considering a lack of experience there.
I could also try to make mon which appear cute or childish. I think there are a lot of possibilities concerning how I could incorporate mon into my work.
I totally wanna make some kind of Digimon joke here.
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