The Japan Fashion Week Organization (JFW) has announced details of the Japan Pavilion, "The Japan Observatory," to be held in a special area at Milano Unica 2006SS, from February 4th to 6th next year.

This will be the second time the event has been held, following the 2015-16AW event held in September this year, and 34 companies and organizations will be participating, up from 29 last time. The size of the business booths will also be expanded from 378 square meters to 429 square meters.

Since its launch in 2005, Milano Unica, one of Europe's two major textile exhibitions, has limited exhibitors to Italian and European textile and related manufacturers. The Japan Observatory was first held at the event, following recommendations and requests from buyers of Italian high-end brands and the high reputation of Japanese textiles. The previous event attracted over 4,000 visitors. 1,719 business negotiations took place, including with luxury brands and top Western brands such as Gucci, Prada, Dolce & Gabbana, Roberto Cavalli, and Max Mara, as well as Louis Vuitton, Hermès, Lanvin, Jil Sander, and Paul Smith. This year, JFW will be hosting the event alone, following a previous collaboration with the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO). The event will feature a 519-square-meter space, including corporate booths and a Japanese textile promotion booth. The Trend & Index Corner, which was well-received last year, will feature exhibits focused on two themes: "The Style of Men and Women," which represents the serenity, elegance, and dignity of Japanese culture, and "Tokyo Pop Cruise," which expresses the diversity of modern Japanese culture and Japanese pop culture.

The booths will express a Japanese aesthetic by dividing areas with lattices inspired by sliding doors. In addition to being conscious of branding Japanese textiles, the booths will be accessible from three sides. Following on from last year, with the cooperation of JETRO, a business matching event with invited VIP buyers will be held again this year.

At a press conference held in Tokyo, Akira Kawashima, Executive Director of JFW's Textile Business Division, said, "Last time, September was a great success. Since spring and summer visitor numbers are lower than those of autumn and winter, it's difficult to achieve even more, but we hope to achieve the same number of visitors and business negotiations as last time."

樋口真一