To commemorate the 77th anniversary of the fashion magazine "Soen" and the 90th anniversary of Bunka Gakuen University's founding, an exhibition celebrating the history of "Soen" and the "Soen Award" is running at the Bunka Gakuen Costume Museum in Yoyogi, Tokyo, until September 28th.
The exhibition displays 850 issues of "Soen" from its first issue to the latest, as well as 84 "Soen Award" winning works. The purpose is to look back on the roles and history of each magazine, trends in Japanese fashion, and seek hints for further growth.
The first floor displays "Soen." The exhibition traces the history of the magazine, which has progressed alongside Japanese fashion, from the 1950s when it began to feature the latest Paris Collection information, to the 1980s when it featured Japanese models such as Isako Washio, to the 2000s when it began to cover not only fashion but also architecture, graphics, and film.
The second floor displays past Soen Award winning works in chronological order. On display will be works by Kenzo Takada, Yohji Yamamoto, and Kansai Yamamoto, as well as the late Tokio Kumagai and Kaneaki Abe, and Yusuke Takahashi, who took over as designer for ISSEY MIYAKE MEN from Spring/Summer 2014. A digest video of the final judging session, including footage moderated by Masumi Okada, will also be shown at the back of the venue. On the first day, the 3rd, visitors included Soen Award winners Junko Koshino and Kosuke Tsumura, as well as Toshikazu Iwatani of DRESSCAMP, Tamae Hirokawa of SOMARTA, Yoshiyuki Miyamae of ISSEY MIYAKE, and Issei Takashima of Né-net.
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Tsumura said, "Even back then, I was designing with the intention of being anti-fashion. The shapes are simple, but the textiles are elaborate, such as expressing machine wiring diagrams and graphics inspired by Africa with string. Today's winning works haven't changed at all."
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[Event Information]
"SOEN" and the "SOEN Award": A History Exhibition
Location: Bunka Gakuen Costume Museum
Address: Shinjuku Bunka Quinto Building 1F, 3-22-7 Yoyogi, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
Dates: Until September 28th
Hours: 10:00 to 16:30 (Closing at 19:00 on July 19th and September 27th, last admission 30 minutes before closing)
Closed: Sundays, national holidays, August 11th to 18th (Open on July 28th and August 4th)
Admission: Adults 500 yen, University/High School Students 300 yen, Elementary/Junior High School Students 200 yen