In Japan, fashion isn’t just a statement… it’s a lifestyle. “Fashion Week”
In Japan, fashion isn’t just a statement… it’s a lifestyle.
“Fashion Week” is a fashion festival held twice a year in the world’s fashion cities during which the trends for the next season are born from the latest collections that are unveiled at fashion shows and exhibitions.
Out of the world’s fashion weeks, those held in Paris, Milan, London, New York and Tokyo are regarded as having the most potential for disseminating information due to their history and the amount of buzz surrounding them. These five fashion weeks are the most known fashion weeks in the world and have much influence of the fashion world.
The fashion week held in Tokyo is the “Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week TOKYO (MBFWT)”. It is hosted by the Japan Fashion Week Organization (JFW Organization) and held twice a year on March and October.
Japan’s latest creations are showcased to the world from various locations in Tokyo centered at Shibuya Hikarie and Mercedes me.
Here are some of our favorites:
Hidenori Kumakiri
Designer of Beautiful People
Hidenori Kumakiri graduated from the Apparel Technology Department of Bunka Fashion College in 1997. After he worked as a pattern maker at COMME des GARCONS. He designs Men’s & Women’s / Clothing, Shoes, Bags, Hats, Accessories and others.
Yasutaka Funakoshi
Designer of alice auaa
alice auaa designs do not merely categorize duality, such as beauty and ugliness, and light and shadow, through a decadent and surreal filter based on the color black, but rather convey a mode of avant-garde and romanticism based on the endless motif of the time of life in everything (creation from destruction), and the elegance and eroticism that dwells in incommodiousness.
Three alice auaa looks were displayed at the “MoBA 13: Fetishism in Fashion” exhibit in Arnhem, Netherlands. The looks were displayed under the category “ROMANTICISM”, and were a main showpiece of MoBAATJE.
In October, alice auaa elected Uplift Tokyo, LLC as our agent for overseas expansion, and also opened our new website, alice auaa international.
Lady Gaga chose to wear alice auaa at her press conference for the promotion of “ARTPOP” when she went to Japan in December 2013. alice auaa designed and produced the tour pamphlet and several costumes for the concert tour of vocalist Tatsuya Ishii.
Bajowoo
Designer of 99%IS-
99%IS- is a totally new fashion brand, established by Korean designer, Bajowoo.
Call it Elegant and street-style designs based on rock taste, creating a unique and original mode style.
In the first collection, the brand used authentic leather items encrusted with original studs and detail in order to express a new global philosophy and attention. He’s also collaborated with COMME des GARCONS, GEORGE COX, MACKIN TOSH.
Globally famous musicians (Chris Brown, Justin Bieber, LADY GAGA, Miguel, BIGBANG, etc.) have worn 99%IS- designs as stage costumes, as well as private fashion items. Bajowoo was born in 1984 in Seoul, Korea. He enrolled in ESMODE in 2003.
Later, he would establish his first Punk brand in KOREA, as well as produce rock band costumes and artwork. After visiting London, Paris, Tokyo, Bangkok, he experienced various underground punk. This holds the roots of his creations.
Bajowoo moved to Tokyo in 2008 and enrolled in a dressmaker school in 2010. During the Autumn/Winter season in 2012, when he was a sophomore in college, he established the brand 99%IS-. He debuted his runway collection at 2013S Mercedes-Benz-FashionWeekTokyo.
Hiromichi Ochiai
Designer of FACETASM
Born in Tokyo in 1977. Graduated from the Bunka Fashion College in 1999. Worked for eight years at the textiles company “Guildwork”, which mainly deals with domestic modes like COMME des GARCONS, Zucca, and UNDERCOVER, while working as an assistant at NGAP (artists that work on everything from Western clothing to furniture and interior). Launched his own brand “FACETASM” in the spring of 2007.
Jotaro Saito
Jotaro Saito was born in Kyoto. Ever since his debut at the age of 27 as Japan’s youngest kimono designer, he offers a style that shares classic and contemporary sensibilities, in the pursuit of creating Kimono as fashion that compliments contemporary space. Currently, he promotes “a lifestyle of enjoying Japanese taste,” while producing interior and product designs.
Yukiko Hanai
After graduating from Setsu Mode Seminar of Nagasawa Setsu, Hanai established Atelier Hanai in 1964 and opened a boutique “Madam Hanai” in Ginza, Tokyo in 1968. Hanai won FEC Award in 1973 and the Senken Newspaper Buyers Award in 2003. She changed the name of her company to HANAI & Co.Ltd. in 1984 and opened a flag ship shop in Ginza, Tokyo for “YUKIKO HANAI” brands. Hanai thinks her everyday life is all about designing, and released a lot of license products. She designed costumes for ballet performances and movies. Hanai has a great knowledge in Japanese traditional culture. She is a member of “Touseikai”(Classical Japanese dance organization ) as Tohshi Fujima(art name as a master). She also is a directly through student of Mushanokoji-urasenke(tea ceremony). She had served a member of some screening commitiee in Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. Kisoe Aoki:Born in Nagano Pref. Graduated Sugino Dressmaker Jogakuin in 1975 and Setsu Mode Seminar of Nagasawa Setsu. Aoki started her carrier at Hanai and Co.Ltd. 1977. experiened brands madame hanai, C-1, Yukiko Hanai New York as charge.