Costume College 2025 Guest Teacher:
Laura Wong

Laura Wong has been studying kimono and Japanese textiles for over 15 years, both in Japan and in the U.S. She spent six months living in Japan back in 2006 and first fell in love with kimono while living there and experiencing it firsthand. While there, she conducted independent research on the role of kimono in contemporary society and spent her weekends doing street fashion photography in the Harajuku neighborhood in Tokyo.

During her time in Japan, she became increasingly interested in how the kimono was evolving in contemporary Japanese society and how traditional Japanese clothing was often seamlessly mixed with western clothing. In 2007, she had the opportunity to return to Japan on a research fellowship to Okinawa and Hokkaido, where she studied the unique textile traditions of the indigenous people of those regions: the Ryukyu and the Ainu, respectively.

Back in the U.S., she spent three years taking classes on kimono dressing through the Southern California branch of the Yamano College of Aesthetics, which is based in Tokyo. After completing the Okuden course in 2018, Laura is now a licensed kimono dresser and sensei. 

In 2020, Laura started her own textile business, BORO BORO, which specializes in vintage Japanese textiles and kimono. In addition to vintage, she also sells one of a kind, hand crafted goods made from upcycled kimono fabrics. Many of the textiles she carries are no longer in production or are vintage pieces that were handed down through generations, and her goal is to help preserve them by giving them a second life

BORO BORO’s mission is  to help make kimono culture more accessible to those who are outside of Japan by providing a space for both kimono enthusiasts and those who are new to kimono to learn about the culture, history, and craftsmanship that goes into making these unique textiles. 

In addition to her textile business, Laura has spent the last fourteen years working as a Costumer and Assistant Costume Designer in the  film and television industry, and is a proud member of both Local 705 (Motion Picture Costumers) and Local 892 (The Costume Designer’s Guild). She has worked in a wide variety of roles in the costume department but in particular she loves being a part of the made to order process. Her favorite projects have been as a fabric buyer or MTO (Made to Order) key costumer, where she was in charge of sourcing materials for and coordinating the build of all of the costumes that are being made from scratch. She has also recently started offering kimono rentals and on set dressing services for film and tv productions and occasionally works as a consultant on projects involving kimono.

Selected screen credits include: Interior Chinatown, The Sympathizer, Loki (Season 2), Our Flag Means Death, Jungle Cruise, A Wrinkle in Time, Star Trek: Picard, Bombshell, Westworld (Season 2 – Shogunworld), Twin Peaks: The Return, and Guardians of the Galaxy 2.

www.shopboroboro.com     Instagram: @shopboroboro