Rakuten Fashion Week TOKYO 2025 A/W3/20(Thu.) Day 4 Report
Rakuten Fashion Week TOKYO (Rakuten FWT) 2025 A/W (organized by Japan Fashion Week Organization (JFWO)) entered its fourth day today. Here is a report on the highlights of the fourth day, including brands that presented the night before.
Brands that presented on Wednesday 3/19 –
Paul Smith (by R) (19:00～) Tokyo National Museum Hyokeikan
As part of the “by R” project, which aims to empower the Japanese fashion scene, Paul Smith held a runway show in Tokyo during this season’s Fashion Week. The show was held at Hyokeikan in Ueno, an important cultural property. Media representatives as well as celebrities Tsubasa Honda, Kenichi Takito, and Lily Franky came to celebrate the special night.
On the runway, the brand unveiled new pieces including an original composition exclusive to by R, adding women’s looks to the men’s collection that was unveiled in Paris in January 2025. The collection focused on the works and styles of some of the most representative photographers of the 20th century. The texture and unique contrast of black-and-white photography was incorporated into the color palette. Items with prints based on photographs of wild daisies taken by photographer Harold B. Smith, Paul Smith’s father, were also featured in the collection as an homage to his major influence on the designer.
The show opened with the brand’s iconic and playful multi-stripe look. While based on classic styles such as tailored items, the show was still full of Paul Smith’s playful touches, such as stripes over checks, and dark green over bright orange. The masculine style of the women’s’ shirts and ties were also not to be missed. Last but not least, Mr. Paul himself appeared with a beaming smile.
Limited edition by R products are now on sale on the Rakuten Fashion shopping site. The lineup includes T-shirts, socks, and tumblers decorated with orchids taken from Paul’s own photographs. The bold shirt with a colorful inkjet of the orchid motif which featured on the runway is also available, so please click on the link below to see for yourself!
Paul Smith by R limited edition product page:
https://brandavenue.rakuten.co.jp/ba/shop-paulsmith/?free_word=paulsmith_limited_byr_&l-id=brn_fashionweekarticle_2025aw001
©courtesy of brand
– Brands that presented today, Thursday 3/20 –
KEISUKEYOSHIDA (14:00～) Rosa Kaikan
Ikebukuro Rosa is an entertainment building that houses a movie theater, a game center, a bowling alley, and even more entertainment. The pale pink building with the large rose logo is an iconic symbol of the Ikebukuro West Exit. Designer Yoshida, who was a “latchkey” child, had spent many childhood days at the location filling his loneliness.
For the past several seasons, the designer had been searching for a kind of surreal image of women that we envision in our hearts, expressed through stoic shapes and elegance. This season, as the final stage of the project and the first step toward the next stage, the designer has turned their attention to realistic women’s wear that is grounded in reality. The selection of more comfortable fabrics and slightly more gradual shapes are eye-catching. However, there is still a sense of tension that could be described as an element of the brand’s character. The rose patterns, which looks like something you would find in a madam’s boutique in the city, is used on bags and skirts, and the silver paper of chewing gum was transformed into earrings. The elegance that abounds in everyday life was picked up one by one and incorporated into the items.
The models came down from the second floor, through a narrow corridor, past a game arcade that was open for business, and back onto the runway. If the designer had come across this scene as a child, how would his muses have looked into his eyes?
SATORU SASAKI (14:00-) TODA Hall & Conference Tokyo Hall A
SATORU SASAKI, winner of the TOKYO FASHION AWARD 2025, held their first runway show as a brand. Designer Sasaki, who loves art, and especially painting, chose Mark Rothko, a representative of abstract expressionism, as his source of inspiration for this season. With the theme of “Primitive Future,” he presented a powerful collection with the key colors of red and orange, which are symbolic of his work. The runway also included a mix of “SASAKI SATORU,” a men’s line launched in the 24AW season.
The brand’s signature style is a beautiful silhouette that quietly corrects the lines of the body without making you feel the weight of the material. The classic panel dress is layered in two pieces to evoke the sequence of colors in Rothko’s works.
Loop-knit hand-knit items mixed three different colors and two different yarn counts to recreate the textural feel and gradation of the painter’s works. The checkered coat, which looked as if it has been painted on, was needlepunched by a craftsman using a sewing machine. The use of nuanced materials shone through this season as well.
Mr. Sasaki’s core wish for this project was to “see things with emotion, not logic.” This is something we forget before we even realize, as we tend to think we are “critical” by twisting and turning things around with “what is and what is not.” Look and listen with emotion, and face your heart head on. It will remind you of the feeling of being in the Rothko Room.
HEAVEN TANUDIREDJA (18:00-) World Kita-Aoyama Bldg.
The brand by Heaven Tanudiredja from Bali held its second runway show at Rakuten FWT. This season, the brand infused creations with the psychological phenomenon of “repetition compulsion,” which is the unintentional repetition of painful experiences from the past. Couture-like forms reminiscent of emotional ups and downs, such as dresses with a series of overlapping details like origami and bold wavy collar designs were characteristic of this season’s show.
The second collaboration item with Grounds, a shoe brand created by Mikio Sakabe, was also announced. In homage to their 21-year friendship, the shoes were decorated with colorful flower beads and other items.
Panasonic Clothes Steamer Touch & Try event is underway
A Touch & Try event is now being held where visitors can experience Panasonic’s top of the line clothing steamers and the latest model just released this March. The booth displays clothing from brands that won the TOKYO FASHION AWARD 2025, and visitors can participate in a drawing to win a clothes steamer on the spot when they experience the event. Be sure to stop by before or after the runway show at the official venue, TODA Hall & Conference Tokyo Hall A.
Schedule: Thursday, March 20th – Sunday, March 22th
Hours: Same as the collection schedule
Venue: TODA HALL & CONFERENCE TOKYO Foyer
Organizer: Panasonic Corporation
Official venue for the second half of the session is TODA Hall & Conference Tokyo
The official venue for the second half of the show, from Thursday, March 20th to Saturday the 22nd is TODA Hall & Conference Tokyo in Kyobashi, where runway shows and related events will be held in Halls A and B on the 4th floor. Official drinks will be distributed, so please enjoy them before and after the runway show.
* All photos with some exception are property of ©JFWO.
