As Japan undertakes its bold stimulus plan under its prime minister Shinzo Abe, Japanese fashion is getting a boost, too. Earlier this month, eight years after the launch of the first Japan Fashion Week, members of the international press were brought in to view shows of local designers’ collections for spring/summer 2014.
“It was Abe’s Liberal Democratic party that founded Japan Fashion Week,” says Akiko Shinoda, director of international affairs for the event. “The government is already trying to push to invest much more in promoting fashion, and we hope they’ll pump in more money in the near future.”
It is early days, continues Shinoda, and one goal is to copy London Fashion Week in promoting the country and its young designers to overseas markets.