Learn Italian: Per praticare bene, ci vuole un kimono. - You need a kimono to practice properly.

Ci vuole expresses a general, objective necessity—it means something is required for a certain task regardless of who is doing it. Even though the English translation says "You need", it's a general "you". If you wanted to say a specific person needs it right now, you would use hai bisogno di un kimono or ti serve un kimono.

What is the actual subject of ci vuole in this sentence?

The subject is un kimono. The expression ci vuole functions similarly to "is required" or "is needed" in English. Because un kimono is singular, the verb is conjugated in the singular (vuole). If you needed multiple things, the verb would become plural: ci vogliono due kimono.

Why do we say Per praticare instead of just starting with Praticare?

When you want to express purpose—meaning "in order to" do something—Italian requires the preposition per followed by an infinitive verb. Without per, praticare bene would just mean "practicing properly" as a noun phrase, rather than "in order to practice properly".

Why does bene translate to "properly" here rather than "well"?