Rakuten Fashion Week TOKYO 2023

Rakuten Fashion Week TOKYO 2023 Fall Winter 2023-2024 season kicked off on Monday, aiming to inspire the world from Asia’s top mode country by fusing “digital and physical” in the post-pandemic era.

Rakuten Fashion Week TOKYO 2023 11

IRENISA, honored as Tokyo Fashion Award 2023, opened the Autumn-Winter 2023 parade in the Japanese capital, showcasing the brand’s first physical runway show.

The menswear label presented its ready-to-wear collection, featuring oversize robes and trousers in largely monochrome colors as models were winding through the audience on the floor.

ABLANKPAGE Rakuten Fashion Week TOKYO 2023
ABLANKPAGE Rakuten Fashion Week TOKYO 2023

The biannual event is almost back in full stride. Of 58 houses on the official Tokyo calendar, 42 brands are scheduled to present in-person catwalk shows with the remaining 16 labels opting for digital presentations.

“As we move along to an era of with-Corona after surviving a global pandemic, the Japan Fashion Week Organization, rather than simply returning to how things were before the corona pandemic, will be changing directions towards a new stage for further developments, with the fusing of digital and physical,” Japan Fashion Week (JFW) Organization said in a statement.

The opening day coincided with an end to the Japanese government’s recommendation to wear masks in public as the number of infections is sharply declining in the country.

“Finally, spring has come to us as a good wind is blowing back to society,” Hiroshi Komoda, JFW Secretary-General, told the opening ceremony as he joined the ritual of breaking open barrels of the event’s official sake, Dassai.

“The excitement that we had seen before has eventually returned,” he added.

Yuji Abe, co-designer of IRENISA, said when the brand was launched in 2020, “the mood was quite negative” due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Chika Kisada Rakuten Fashion Week TOKYO 2023
Chika Kisada Rakuten Fashion Week TOKYO 2023

“I am deeply moved as we were able to present an in-person runway show this time as the pandemic has entered a new phase,” Abe said.

Adopting the concept of chic with sarcasm, Abe launched the label with Yu Kobayashi, who served as an experienced pattern maker at Yohji Yamamoto brand.

Among other houses showcasing their collections for the event are 08sircus and aki masuda / SAYAKAASANO, both making their first appearance, while overseas labels YUEQI QI and Maison J.Simone are presenting their creations.