The season’s biggest outcome was practical: a reduced domestic presence forced organisers to replenish the schedule with foreign designers and intensified buyer outreach to preserve commercial momentum. The SS27 season ran 27 shows over six days, but organisers and critics noted a marked shift away from a fully homegrown programme as a number of Japanese labels opted for lookbooks or off-schedule presentations timed to men’s shows or Paris buying windows.
The Story in Pictures
Kaoru Imajo, director of the Japan Fashion Week Organization, said many emerging designers prefer different timing and want to show in Paris, a choice that left the calendar feeling sparse. Some established names bypassed the runway entirely; Viviano produced a lookbook this season after hiring PR in Los Angeles and winning notable wearers. The brand put its reasoning plainly, “If you are a really young brand and you need attention, it’s a good thing [to show at Tokyo Fashion Week], but for us, once you reach a point, maybe it’s not as important to be on schedule.”
Not every Japanese label retreated. Knitwear label Pillings by Ryota Murakami stayed on the official programme and broadened its range this season into linen suiting and sporty separates. Owned by The Sazaby League, Pillings was shortlisted for last year’s LVMH Prize and now lists over 25 international stockists, including Dover Street Market London and New York and Andreas Murkudis in Berlin. Murakami has lined up a Paris showroom at the end of September as he weighs whether future seasons should be presented outside Japan. “It made sense for us to show in Tokyo before going to Paris,” he said.
To offset the domestic exodus, the Japan Fashion Week Organization diversified the roster: nine of the 27 scheduled designers were from countries including France, Spain, Thailand, Taiwan, the Philippines, Canada and China. Organisers also deepened partnerships to introduce foreign labels to Japan; the RUN x Andam showroom returned with seven European brands, a move that Frederic Maus of WSN Group called “a huge experience for them that helps [establish] them in Asia.” Designers such as Sonia Carrasco and Anthony Calydon used on-schedule events to meet Japanese stockists and buyers, with Carrasco noting Japan was the first market to back her label and praising local appetite for discovery.
Industry players stressed that a weak yen raises import costs but does not erase Japan’s wholesale appeal. Delegations included 16 overseas buyers and press, among them representatives from 10 Corso Como Seoul, ShowStudio and Tessabit, and several buyers said Tokyo’s compact, calmer format supported better meetings than larger weeks. For now the organisation is balancing talent loss with international curation and buyer outreach, while designers who have built international stockists must decide whether growth will be staged in Paris or remain rooted in
