Utilizing a fund provided by the Organization for Small & Medium Enterprises and Regional Innovation, the Japan Fashion Week Organization is promoting “tokyoeye 2017 Project” to assist up-and-coming small and medium fashion brands which aim to expand overseas. A total of 14 women’s fashion brands, mostly those that participated in Amazon Fashion Week Tokyo, are taking part in an exhibition and business meetings that have been held since February 24 in the mahna mahna showroom in the SoHo, New York.

On the 24th, the first day, a press preview and reception party were held, where more than 150 local reporters and buyers got together, showing high interest in creations from Japan.

Prior to the exhibition, the participating brands received advice on product development from Ms. Hannah Bibb, the assistant fashion director of Barneys New York, and Ms. Kaori Cipriano, the director of the mahna mahna showroom, and refined the items they would introduce in New York for the 2017 F/W season.

Comments expressed by local buyers who participated in the reception included, “Because of my schedule and budget, I cannot easily go to the Tokyo Fashion Week, so I am glad to be able to see a number of interesting Japanese brands at once in New York,” “Japanese brands participate in many exhibitions in Paris, but for buyers who don’t go to Paris, this exhibition presents a good opportunity to see them in New York,” and “I like their high-tech materials and delicate print patterns, so I already picked up some items to place orders for.”

The outline of the exhibition with business meetings is as follows:

Date

February 24(Fri) – 28(Tue), 2017 9:00 – 18:00

Venue

mahna mahna showroom
134 Spring Street #304 New York, NY10012

tokyoeye 2017 participating brands in alphabetical order

Chika Kisada
DRESSEDUNDRESSED
FLICKA
GAUFRAIT
IN-PROCESS
KICS DOCUMENT.
MIDDLA
Motohiro Tanji
PRINCESS HIROMI
RIEKA INOUE GNU
ROGGYKEI
SHIGA
SOMARTA
uemulo munenoli

14 brands in all

tokyoeye 2017 project key visual

To boost the appeal of the image of the tokyoeye 2017 project, the key visual has been created by Soma Design. It conveys the multifaceted attractiveness of the brands participating in the tokyoeye 2017 project impressively.

Overseas experts

Hannah Bibb, Assistant Fashion Director, Barneys New York
Hannah’s career in fashion began in editorial, where she learned the inner workings of the mastheads at CR Fashion and Cosmopolitan. She then went on to explore the retail side of the industry, where she is currently the Assistant Fashion Director at Barneys New York. This evolving role is a marriage between the fantasies of editorial and the business of fashion. She is constantly in the market searching for new collections that would be suitable for the Barneys customer, as well as involved in the development side of Barneys Private Label collection. Her continuous hunt for new brands and inspiration has taken her around the world, including fashion destinations such as London, Milan, Paris, and Tokyo. Her role views fashion through the lens of a buyer, the customer, as well as an editor.

Kaori Cipriano, Director of mahna mahna showroom in New York
She has lived in the US for 25 years. After studying Buying and Merchandising at Fashion Institute of Technology, a prestigious university in New York, she was engaged in international sales at showrooms in New York and participated in many projects to manage introduction of European brands to the US and Asia. After joining mahna mahna co., she established the New York branch, launched its showroom business in New York, and was promoted to the position of director. She is actively involved in research of Japanese brands.

Inquiry

Ms. Takezawa : tokyoeye@ifs.co.jp
tokyokeye 2017 Project Secretariat
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