Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week TOKYO (Tokyo Collection) was held from Saturday, October 13th to Saturday, October 20th, 2012. Forty brands, including nine participating for the first time, presented their 2013 Spring/Summer collections. 35 shows and five installations were held, attracting approximately 19,500 visitors.
The main venues for this event were Shibuya Hikarie and the Mercedes-Benz Connection in Roppongi, which opened in April 2012. Including sponsored, co-sponsored, and related events, the total attendance was approximately 43,000.
The opening ceremony on the first day, Saturday, October 14th, attracted 1,000 visitors. After a ribbon-cutting ceremony by singer Namie Amuro, FACETASM, one of Tokyo's up-and-coming brands, presented its latest collection in the form of a show. In addition to the fashion shows, public events were also held, including "Tweed Run Tokyo 2012," which brought London organizers to Japan; the outdoor "Shibuya Fashion Festival" held at Miyashita Park; and a kimono fashion show on the streets of Nihonbashi. These events showcased a uniquely Tokyo fashion experience not found at other fashion weeks. Many of the shows were livestreamed on the official website, and the site reportedly received a total of 457,935 page views during the period (a 52% increase over the previous year). During the period, 507 domestic media and 305 international media from 17 countries and regions covered the event, totaling 812 people. Web traffic from media coverage also skyrocketed. In fact, participating brands' collections were featured on the blog of Tommy Ton, a world-renowned blogger invited by JETRO, and on style.com, a fashion website covering fashion from around the world. A total of 431 people attended, including 278 buyers from Japan and 153 from 23 countries and regions overseas (based on registration for both media and buyers). Organizer JFW commented, "The addition of Shibuya to the official venues has provided an opportunity to spread awareness of fashion week, with the participation of brands popular with younger generations and a surprise guest appearance at the opening ceremony." The next Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week TOKYO 2013-14 A/W will be held from March 17th (Sun) to March 23rd (Sat), 2013, at Shibuya Hikarie, Mercedes-Benz Connection, and other venues. The exhibiting brands are scheduled to be announced in mid-January 2013. *All figures are based on data from the Japan Fashion Week Organization. Other published data is listed below. Pre-party: 450 people Official night party: 400 people CREATIVE TOKYO Forum & Exhibition Business Meeting: 700 people Tweed Run Tokyo 2012: 150 people Number of attendees at related events: 21,000 (15 events held by the 21st with confirmed attendee numbers, *excluding Shibuya Fashion Festival, etc.)
