Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings will be exhibiting for the first time at PREMIERE CLASSE, an international fashion accessories exhibition being held in Paris, France, from January 22nd. This time, Isetan Mitsukoshi will be showcasing women's shoes. The exhibit will include shoes created in collaboration with notable fashion brands such as FACETASM and newneu., as well as shoes made with artificial leather materials developed using cutting-edge technology from Toray and Kuraray. The buyer in charge of women's shoes commented enthusiastically about the exhibit at PREMIERE CLASSE, "Since 2011, we have been working with businesses upstream to create women's shoes for our private brand. Through five years of trial and error, we have built relationships with manufacturers not only in Japan but also in Italy and Spain, and have accumulated shoemaking know-how. We would like to take this opportunity to show buyers from around the world our Made in Japan shoes, which are carefully crafted not only for their design and construction, but also for their comfort." At last October's Tokyo Collection, FACETASM, which walked the runway in a pair of shoes produced in collaboration with the company, shared a common goal: "We want to create high-quality items, even for shoes that are essential for completing a look, and we want to propose new footwear styles from Tokyo." The two companies will continue their collaboration in the AW16 season. The company will also be creating shoes with the "CREATOR'S TOKYO" brand, a group of talented designers who passed the professional category judging round of the TOKYO New Designer Fashion Awards. Regarding product development using artificial leather from Toray and Kuraray, the buyer commented, "When we wanted to constantly propose new products to our customers, we were attracted to artificial leather, which was developed based on advanced technology. It has a texture similar to leather and is waterproof and stain-resistant. Its functionality, ideal for shoes, was appealing. We hope that by using artificial leather, a next-generation material, we can offer proposals that look to the future."

Isetan Women's Shoes is a private brand that sells approximately 60,000 pairs of shoes per year. Last year, Isetan Women's Shoes also began OEM operations, and in 2016 will begin wholesaling products to approximately five ADO Group stores. When asked about the benefits of developing products in-house, a representative said, "Thanks to our expanded network, we can now flexibly create shoes that meet customer demands, even if they deviate from industry theory. We can also accumulate the knowledge necessary for shoemaking within the company." Mitsukoshi Isetan's women's shoes have grown by responding to the voices of customers and designers. We'll be keeping an eye on their next move.