Tokyo Fashion Week: Nothing can get in the way of Fashion

Corona virus' pandemic has given a huge impact on this year's supposed upcoming Rakuten Fashion Week Tokyo, having this year's show to be cancelled. This event is to looked forward to as it serves as Japan's biggest style showcase. 

With growing concerns over the spread of the outbreak, organizers have seem to have found ways to work-around. Rather than having huge crowd of attendees into runway shows, they have opted to go online. Starting last March 16, the fall 2020 collections of the nation’s buzziest designers had been livestreamed on the organization’s official website.

The collections were presented without the usual lineup of editors, buyers, and influencers in the front row. The move makes sense given recommendations about self-quarantining 
and social distancing. 

Buzzy brands like Hideaki Yoshihara and Yukiko Ode’s Hyke, modern kimono purveyor Jotaro Saito, and streetwear fave Shoop all presented their latest wares in exclusive streams. The only thing that was missing was the city’s legendary street style.

Of all the fashion weeks around the world, it’s Tokyo's highstreet fashion that never disappoints. Tokyo’s buzzy schedule which includes Kozaburo, Hare, Tae Ashida, and Hyke this season, among others draws editors and stylists from all over the world, but the locals we’re seeing on the streets are easily the most experimental fashion fans. If you liked the minimalism of New York, London, Milan, and Paris, Tokyo will change your mind. In Tokyo it’s all about wild prints, statement-making accessories, and multicolored hair.

Dealing with scheduling issues, attracting big local brands and providing a complex support system for new talents are just a few of the challenges facing the gatekeepers to Japan’s fashion industry. Though Rakuten’s first season as title sponsor saw the organisation adopt a transitional, rather than transformational approach, both obstacles and exciting changes lie ahead.

by Erica Pamela