The 10th International Fashion World Tokyo Autumn will be held at Tokyo Big Sight for three days from October 2nd to 4th. Held twice a year, in spring and autumn, the show is Japan's largest comprehensive fashion exhibition, consisting of four exhibitions: Apparel Expo, Bag Expo, Shoes Expo, and Accessories Expo. This year's event will feature a record 1,050 exhibitors from 35 countries around the world, including Italy, Morocco, Germany, the UK, the US, and Turkey. Of these, 230 are new exhibitors. An estimated 25,000 visitors are expected. From apparel to bags and accessories, the latest Spring/Summer 2020 collections and Fall/Winter 2019-2020 collections will be on display. This article introduces some of the highlights.

This Week's Featured Seminar

This year's free seminars will feature 44 lectures from a diverse lineup of industry leaders and current frontline figures. The keynote speech, taking place on October 2nd at 2:30 PM, will feature designer Junko Koshino. In this special discussion, she will discuss her life as a designer, her philosophy of action, the future of the fashion industry, and more, alongside Mikinori Kojima, editor-in-chief of Soen magazine, who has closely followed her work.

JUNKO KOSHINO (Junko Koshino Co., Ltd.)

October 2, 14:30-15:15
JUNKO KOSHINO (Junko Koshino Co., Ltd.) x Soen Editor-in-Chief Mikinori Kojima
"The Path and Philosophy of Designer Junko Koshino"

From left: Kazuyasu Tanaka, Senior Executive Officer and Deputy General Manager of Business Unit I, UNITED ARROWS LTD.; Tatsuya Kubota, Representative Director and President, ZOZO Technologies, Inc.

October 2, 12:30-1:30 PM
Kazuyasu Tanaka, Senior Executive Officer and Deputy General Manager of Business Unit I, UNITED ARROWS LTD.
"UNITED ARROWS' Challenge to Develop Brand Labels: Integrating Retail and Brand Perspectives Based on the Example of BLAMINK"

President and Representative Director, ZOZO Technologies, Inc. Tatsuya Kubota
"The Potential of 'WEAR' in China"

Collaboration-based product strategies have been gaining increasing attention in recent years as a way to expand customer base. Starting at 12:30 PM on October 3rd, Kazuyoshi Minamimagoshi of BEAMS, the mastermind behind one of today's most talked-about collaborations, and Kazufumi Hamada of Starbucks Coffee Japan will hold a discussion on the topic, "Lessons from the BEAMS x Starbucks Collaboration: What Makes a Promotional Strategy a Hit?"

From left: Kazuyoshi Minamimagoshi, Executive Officer, Beams Co., Ltd., Director of the Beams Creative Research Institute, Senior Creative Director; Kazufumi Hamada, Product Manager, New Business Model Promotion Division, Starbucks Coffee Japan Co., Ltd.

October 3, 12:30–1:30 PM
Kazuyoshi Minamimagoshi, Executive Officer, Beams Co., Ltd., Director of the Beams Creative Research Institute, Senior Creative Director; ×
Hamada, Product Manager, New Business Model Promotion Division, Starbucks Coffee Japan Co., Ltd. Kazufumi
"BEAMS x Starbucks: Learning from the Hottest Collaboration: Promotional Strategies That Generate Controversy"

Also, from a non-apparel perspective, Soup Stock Tokyo's Miwa Ezawa will speak about branding marketing, focusing on creating connections with customers: "Moving from 'collecting' to 'gathering': What is Soup Stock Tokyo's branding approach?"

Soup Stock Tokyo Co., Ltd., Executive Vice President, Miwa Ezawa

October 3, 2:30 PM - 3:30 PM
Soup Stock Tokyo Co., Ltd., Executive Vice President, Miwa Ezawa
"Moving from 'collecting' to 'gathering': What is Soup Stock Tokyo's approach to branding?"

"Designers' Gate" Brings Together Cutting-Edge Designers

In response to requests from buyers attending the event, we opened "Designers' Gate" as a place to meet directly with designers who will shape the future of the fashion industry. The event will feature 50 leading designers, ranging from clothing to accessories, including Chihiro Oka, who returned to Japan from London in 2019 and will be presenting his first capsule collection, and IMULUTA, an accessory brand that hand-carves patterns using traditional Japanese metal engraving techniques.

Chihiro Oka

"Made in Japan Fair" Brings Together Japan's Proud Domestic Brands

The newly established "Made in Japan Fair," bringing together Japan's top domestic brands, will feature exhibitors from 90 leading Japanese production areas, including SIORA, a cut-and-sew manufacturer in Wakayama; AineRy, a Ryukyu Aizen denim manufacturer in Okinawa; and Ramuda, a Tokyo-based company based in Nihonbashi that has been selling umbrellas and fashion accessories since its founding in 1946.

SIORA

First-Time Pavilion Exhibitors: Italy and Morocco

This year's event will feature a robust lineup of exhibitors from Europe, with Italy and Morocco appearing as pavilions for the first time. Italy will be represented by Kilesa, a bag brand known for its artistic designs and craftsmanship, and MASTERPELLE, a leading Italian leatherwear brand founded in the 1970s.

Kilesa
From Morocco, exhibitors include KATSO, a designer brand that produces all of its products by hand, and VIRGINIE DARLING, a popular brand known for its leather items by designers Mrs. V and Mr. R.

KATSO

This exhibition brings together fashion-related materials and items from a variety of countries. We hope you will come and experience the excitement that is growing year by year.