Coconogacco, founded by fashion designer Yoshikazu Yamagata, is collaborating with Central Saint Martins, one of the world's leading fashion education institutions, to offer a one-week summer course from August 1st to 5th. This marks the first collaboration between Central Saint Martins and a Japanese school.

While many students and designers have achieved global recognition, many in Japan struggle to take the next step into the world due to a lack of ability to communicate with the world through fashion design. This one-week summer course will incorporate know-how gained from actual overseas experiences to teach students the skills necessary for working internationally.

The instructors will be Maria Nishio and Yoshikazu Yamagata, instructors in the BA Fashion Department at Central Saint Martins. The course will include English-language instruction, inviting students to reflect on themselves through mind maps, deriving the core concept of their work, and giving a presentation on the final day. Using their own portfolios or sketchbooks of concepts and design research as a base, participants will examine their designs and ideas from various perspectives and learn how to communicate them to the world. They will also refer to the portfolios, sketchbooks, and interviews of modern designers to examine the inspirations and story elements surrounding their work. Through one-on-one tutorials, participants will consider the unique and original aspects of their inspirations, which will form the basis for their presentations on the final day. Participants must have a design education background or a basic understanding of English (as the presentations will be in English). The course fee is 150,000 yen (tax included). Applications are accepted from July 1st to 20th. For details on how to apply, please visit the Coconogacco official website (http://www.coconogacco.com/csm/2016/info.html).