Takuro Ogasawara, one of Japan’s most prominent fashion journalists, travels the globe attending fashion weeks worldwide. Takenori Osawa, known for his keen eye for style, leads the legendary select shop MIDWEST, which showcases domestic brands at various events and has cultivated a devoted following. In Paris, we spoke with these two industry figures—each involved in fashion week from their respective positions—about the must-see events of Rakuten Fashion Week TOKYO 25AW.

What was your impression of Paris Fashion Week this season?

Osawa: I was struck by how much MIHARAYASUHIRO and doublet had scaled up in many ways compared to 4 years ago, including venue size. I could sense that they had grown into global brands. I’ve been to Paris over 100 times, but in the last 4 years, showrooms and the overall power dynamics have shifted significantly, making me realize the need to keep updating my perspective too. The TOKYO FASHION AWARD showroom has also been expanding, attracting more international visitors and steadily improving.

Do you feel that Paris itself has changed in the last 4 years?

Osawa: Given the weak yen, I expected to see more Japanese brands stocked in Parisian select shops, but that wasn’t really the case. Overall, I got the impression that stores in Paris were struggling.

Ogasawara: The economy was in bad shape last year, and clothing sales across Europe took a major hit. Some people have even said it was the worst they’ve ever seen.

Osawa: As a buyer, I have a habit of analyzing the atmosphere of a store and observing the customers who shop there. Compared to my past visits, I got the sense this time that things aren’t going so well. The situation in China is also tough right now, but in South Korea and other parts of Asia, retailers seem to be placing substantial orders.

What creative developments have caught your attention recently?

Ogasawara: I’m paying attention to the movements of SETCHU, which held a show at PITTI in January. The designer, a native of Kyoto, blends the tradition of the flat, two-dimensional kimono with the three-dimensional, structured tailoring techniques he learned while working on Savile Row. This dual perspective feels very fresh. His garments have names like “Origami Jacket” and “Geisha Coat,” an approach that reminds me of the way Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO) once packaged Japanese culture in a catchy, globally appealing way.

Osawa: Leather, which had temporarily faded from the scene due to animal welfare concerns, seems to be making a strong comeback. I’m a car enthusiast, and in the auto industry, there’s also a sense that EVs aren’t quite cutting it—so people are returning to gasoline cars. In conversations with designers, they often say that there are simply some forms of expression that are only possible with real leather. Many brands had stopped using leather altogether, but this season, the material made a significant return.

Ogasawara: Prada is supposed to be a fur-free brand, but this season both the men’s and women’s collections seemed to feature fur, so I went to their showroom to check. What I had thought was fur turned out to be shearling. Since sheep are used for food, their pelts aren’t farmed exclusively for fur, which makes shearling more ethically acceptable in places like the UK—at least when it comes to sheep. That’s why we are starting to see new creative approaches to shearling. The technology has advanced so much that it no longer looks like traditional shearling.

How do you think Japanese brands are faring these days?

Ogasawara: Miraculously, Japan still has a fashion scene built on genuine passion. While the world of high fashion has become almost entirely business-driven, in Japan, there are still designers who create out of a pure love for clothing. And while the fabric producers and artisans who support the work of these designers are dwindling as they go out of business, some are still just barely hanging on. Meanwhile, there are also small independent retailers who work tirelessly to sell these clothes, helping to sustain Japanese culture even in regional areas. I really want to find a way to preserve this ecosystem. There are also brands with a strong sense of purpose, like SHINYAKOZUKA and KHOKI, which held their own shows in early February. This kind of environment is worth protecting and fostering.

Osawa: Our shop doesn’t create original products. Instead, we act as a bridge between designers and customers, ensuring that the passion and intent behind each collection is properly communicated. We also collaborate with designers to put on events that express the deeper worldviews behind their collections. From the start, we’ve chosen not to do pop-ups where we borrow surplus inventory or variations. Instead, we want to work together with brands to create experiences that genuinely excite their fans. If that leads to more fans, we can place larger orders, which benefits not just the brands but also the fabric manufacturers and sewing factories. We take responsibility for the orders we place, selling them at full price rather than relying on discounts—because once you start relying on markdowns, profitability disappears. We maintain strict buying standards to ensure that our business model remains sustainable for everyone involved.

Ogasawara: In today’s industry, designers face limited entry and exit strategies. No matter how good their work is, they won’t gain recognition unless they win an award and generate industry buzz. Even in showrooms, the decision to buy or not is often based more on how many followers a brand has on social media rather than the quality of craftsmanship. That’s the unfortunate reality. The same goes for exit strategies—many designers end up selling their brands to luxury houses and becoming creative directors. It’s incredibly difficult to maintain an independent business while consistently producing great work.

Osawa: This season, luxury brands have been swapping out their designers one after another. It’s like a domino effect.

Ogasawara: Gucci brought in Tom Ford to rebrand in 1995, and Marc Jacobs did the same for Louis Vuitton in 1997, so it’s been 30 years since this format was established. I doubt it can continue this way for long, though.

Osawa: Since you’ve been watching shows and brands around the world for so long, Ogasawara, I think more Japanese designers should seek your advice. I’d love to introduce more of them to you.

Ogasawara: I remember when your father, Katsu, invited me to dinner and introduced me to Masayuki Ino from doublet I can be pretty blunt, which some designers might not appreciate. I speak frankly, and while that can sometimes lead to resistance, I understand that everyone takes great pride in their work.

What are your thoughts on the domestic market?

Ogasawara: Wages in Japan haven’t increased in thirty years, so people simply don’t have money. And yet, despite that, there are still young people who are deeply passionate about buying clothes. When I was younger, the experience of buying from and using luxury brands was a way of developing my own sense of values. Today’s younger generation has far fewer opportunities to experience luxury items and develop their sense of style that way. Even within my company, it’s becoming harder for our staff to see, experience, express, and write about luxury fashion. Still, even in these challenging times, I sense a strong love for fashion among young people.

Osawa: No matter the period, there have always been young people who are seriously dedicated to fashion. In our store, we don’t carry clothes covered in big, recognizable logos. Instead, most of our customers buy with a keen eye to how garments really look and feel. Times are undoubtedly tough, but even so, truly exceptional pieces continue to sell. I don’t believe price alone determines whether something sells or not.

Have your policies about buying changed?

Osawa: As a rule, we don’t carry brands that are already stocked by our competitors. Since this is my first time in Paris in 4 years, both in January and now, I’ve been making the rounds to as many brands as possible, searching for the next breakout designers. Seeing so many new collections has reignited my excitement—I’m eager to find the standout brands and collaborate with emerging designers on new projects.
Our store is celebrating its 50th anniversary next year. Business has been tough, and both in Japan and internationally, there are stores that are either shutting down or feeling stagnant. As we enter our 50th year, I don’t want that to happen to us. My eldest son has joined the company, and I know that to stay relevant, I need to seek out his insights, keep evolving, and push forward with new challenges.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of Fashion Week Tokyo. What are your thoughts on the future of Japanese fashion?

Ogasawara: This might sound a bit extreme, but what if we took a radical protectionist approach—what if all the Japanese brands currently showing in Paris presented their collections in Tokyo instead? I think it would be quite interesting if brands chose to show not in Paris but in Tokyo. Hussein Chalayan once went through a Japonisme phase and said that the reason Japan was able to develop such a distinct culture was its years of isolation during the Edo period. According to Chalayan, Japanese culture matured in that closed environment and then spread outward, becoming what we now recognize as uniquely Japanese. If Japan wants to demonstrate its strengths as a “Galápagos” of fashion, it could be incredibly impactful to declare the Japanese fashion world a “closed ecosystem” and hold a major, fully domestic fashion week. Think about the international attention this would generate. Regarding JFW, I think there’s a need not only to showcase brands but also to support the people actually making the clothes. More and more highly skilled artisans are going out of business, and we need to establish a system to sustain them. Some designers have realized this problem and are doing their best to support these factories, recognizing that one after another, high-quality manufacturers are disappearing. Still, individual designers alone can’t solve this issue—there needs to be an organization or system to help support these businesses. Already, knowledge is being lost. Things that were possible just 10 years ago are now on the verge of disappearing. Additionally, many domestic factories are being bought up by luxury brands, meaning that soon, they may only be accessible to big-name labels. We must do more to support domestic factories.

Osawa: As Ogasawara said, I would love to see the brands showing in Paris present their collections in Tokyo Fashion Week instead. If a brand stops showing in Paris, people assume it’s because they’re struggling. But I think we retailers can help change that perception and start a movement to show in Tokyo. If all the Japanese brands that are currently showing in Paris decide to show in Tokyo instead, international journalists would flock to us, invited or not.

Ogasawara: Even in Paris, there is a special energy and anticipation among the audience on the day the 3 Garçons brands show. Starting in the morning, with Junya Watanabe, you can sense that people are there to see the clothes. That intense focus on the clothes carries throughout the day, from Junya to Noir to Garçons. That’s the role Comme des Garçons plays in Paris.