Kanoko

When Japan hosted the 2008 G8 Summit, the leaders’ wives all received a Kanoko kimono sash. This family business has been supplying luxury sashes since 1889, and their beautiful creations have caught the attention of people in high places across the world, ranging from Japan’s imperial family to French Vogue magazine and even the New York Metro-politan Museum of Art. If you would like to buy one, make an appointment and bring along plenty of money: kimono and sash sets start at around ¥400,000, and at the top end of the scale, belts alone can cost ¥2 million.