Rakuten Fashion Week Tokyo Spring/Summer 2024 drew to a close over the weekend. It was another edition that underlined the organiser’s message of a global, holistic approach while putting the local industry at the center. And as always, as soon as a fashion week comes to an end, the focus is already on what is to come and what could happen in the future.
For the Asian designers who make up a large portion of Rakuten Fashion Week Tokyo’s program, participating in the fashion week helps gauge the current state of the market, and with the increasing emphasis on international connections, it has also allowed them to explore worlds beyond their current ones to explore boundaries. This year, in addition to the local labels, more international brands were also on the agenda. This is part of Rakuten’s efforts to drive inclusion and increase brand awareness.
This was also the reason why many of the designers took part in the fashion week in the first place. That’s especially true of the duo behind Dressedundressed, Emiko Sato and Takeshi Kitazawa, whose show closed fashion week. The brand’s digital show was themed “Self-Portrait” and featured mirrored, horizontal images that reflected themselves as models walked down an illuminated runway. For the designers, the fundamental mission of participating in Tokyo Fashion Week was to introduce the brand’s concept to a wider audience. “We appreciate the importance of consistently showcasing our work,” they told FashionUnited.
Japanese customers and willingness to support designers
For Dressedundressed, participation has led to a variety of new business opportunities and collaborations at home and abroad, contributing to the brand’s global expansion. The same goes for many other participating designers, including Yohiei Ohno, who also said they had received more inquiries from abroad, and Seivson, a Taiwanese brand founded by designer Shen Ziqin Jill and artist Song Miqin, which was promoted through the Fashion Week gradually expanded into the Japanese market and now has around five percent of its customer base in Japan.
For SS24, Seivson presented a women’s collection that nods to office wear and focuses on the “personal appeal of the working woman,” with looks designed to appeal to the Japanese customer who, according to Jill, is more willing to pay higher prices for designer goods the Taiwanese. So the challenge for the brand was to find a balance between price and design to achieve a final price that satisfies both sides. However, it seems like Seivson has been successful in this area so far. Recently, the brand reported the highest sales among all participating brands at a pop-up at Isetan department store in Tokyo, reflecting the city’s importance to Seivson as a whole.
“Tokyo is a city with its own culture and long-standing commitment to craftsmanship, and I value this cultural tenacity. Many brands are well known here and there are unique enthusiasts for different styles,” says Jill. “The culture here is not going to disappear because of new things. The market is much more open-minded than in Taiwan, and it is very fashion-conscious. Tokyo is actually the largest fashion city in Asia. When I come here, I not only hope to challenge a new market, but also that my designs are unique in Tokyo. I trust they will resonate in the market and help us expand.”
Diversifying sales methods brings challenges
Of course, there are challenges when it comes to the mission of global expansion. For Takayuki Chino, Cinoh’s designer, who presented an SS24 collection based on an elevated take on functional design, these come from producing regionally specific sizes – Asian sizes tend to be much smaller than those in the West – as well as the need to achieve high prices with low awareness. “Recent business challenges include language barriers in both the domestic and international markets, height issues, and diversification of sales methods,” said Dressedundressed, which already works with retailers in Japan and abroad. “These challenges are not easy to overcome, but we want to tackle them little by little.”
In addition, Sato and Kitazawa also seem to be aware of the differences between customers from different countries. However, for them this is not an obstacle, but an opportunity to explore further areas. “End customers are viewed as a gender-neutral and diverse audience,” they add. “We value not only the differences between national and international markets, but also the diversity and philosophy beyond the visible design.”
Promoting emerging brands and returning established brands
Looking to the near future, it is clear that many of Tokyo Fashion Week’s designers are looking to expand. While Chino wants to strengthen the brand’s direct-to-consumer stores, Seven by Seven’s Junya Kawakami has his sights set on physical retail. The designer founded the brand in 2013 after returning to Japan from San Francisco, where the inspiration for the SS24 collection comes from. His work is about reimagining vintage clothing, paying particular attention to archival collections to create “new” garments. “I create products by focusing on the materials and techniques I encounter at the time, as well as the emotions I feel when I want to create something,” says Kawakami of his design process.
Such a concept is also well received by customers. The Japanese brand has already established relationships with online luxury platforms such as Farfetch and Maillot and presented its first exhibition in Paris in January, with Kawakami noting that he was “very aware of the brand’s recognition overseas.” But the designer has no intention of leaving it at that. “We will open a flagship store in October. We want to communicate with customers there and other places where they can enjoy the brand,” said the designer.
Like others, Kawakami hopes that Rakuten Fashion Week Tokyo can continue to expand its platform to help other brands reach a similar level to what Seven by Seven has achieved. “I hope that more successful Japanese brands with international recognition will return to Tokyo to maintain the status and international significance of Tokyo Fashion Week,” said Seivson designer Jill.
Dressedundressed also emphasizes this idea of broader support from the industry. “We expect an expansion that will serve as a gateway to the international stage and encourage the participation of various brands,” Sato and Kitazawa concluded. “We believe Rakuten Fashion Week Tokyo will provide the Japanese fashion industry with more opportunities to communicate with the world. To achieve this, we believe it is important that every brand, including our own, showcases outstanding work.”
This translated post previously appeared on FashionUnited.uk