Every year, we invite kimono researcher Sheila Cliffe to talk about the history of kimono fashion, followed by a workshop in yukata wearing. This year too, our students had the opportunity to learn how to dress themselves, and the results can be seen in the pictures. We hope that our workshop encouraged our students to wear some yukata during summer festivals in and around Tokyo this year!
On June 19th, Dr. Daphne Mohajer va Pesaran, who was a faculty member of our GFC course and currently works at RMIT, visited us to talk about her research theme of paper clothes, and the many different research projects she is currently undertaking in Japan, the Asia Pacific, Europe, and Australia. The students had an opportunity to learn more about paper clothing and the process of making paper clothes, as well as to think about ideas of decolonisation and the passing of practice-related knowledge onto other people and institutions.
This week, our first-year students visited the Bunka Research Lab for Fashion Textiles located in Hachioji, Tokyo. The students were welcomed by Eiji Miyamoto, the director of the lab, and were guided around the facilities. The students also had the opportunity to look at some textile examples woven at the lab.
Our GFC students have developed textile collaborations with the lab since 2018. In these collaborations, Eiji Miyamoto has been providing guidance to students on the development of their textiles. We are excited to see what new collaboration projects our first years will tackle during their time here at Bunka!
Paul, our double degree student from ENSAD, completed his exchange year with us at GFC, and decided to stay in Tokyo for another year to focus on internships. During this time, he was able to work for CFCL and Yohji Yamamoto. He shared with us his experiences at both internships:
I spent the first six months of this year at CFCL, a young Japanese company, freshly represented at PFW. Accompanied by a small design team, and in a very warm atmosphere, I had the chance to observe the functioning of a house in full expansion: a fashion show, the opening of the first physical store, photoshoots and drawings from the collections punctuated the first six months of this gap year. It was also an opportunity to discover all the immersive parts of the proper functioning of a brand and all the mechanics put in place to manage it.
For my last six months, I had a change of scenery, and started interning at the prestigious studio of Yohji Yamamoto. A dream come true, thanks to the help of Bunka! This internship taught me a rigorous working method in the pace of a major brand, and I am very grateful for the opportunity.
Paul will soon leave to return to ENSAD to finish his degree, and we wish him the best of luck!
The Graduate Fashion Foundation is a charity that bridges the gap between education and employment. The organisation brings together graduates, fashion educators and industry leaders to support and encourage the next generation of talent to reach their full potential once they have completed their studies. Their activities include the organisation of events like Graduate Fashion Week (in which our student Han Li was featured), creating industry-led projects, offering advice and guidance to ensure that graduates worldwide are supported to gain meaningful employment.
Next to Han’s work, our GFC course itself has been featured permanently on the Graduate Fashion Foundation website as a part of Bunka Gakuen University, next to the Bunka Fashion College and Bunka Fashion Graduate University. We hope to be able to feature many of our graduates in the future!
bunkaglobalfashion.com 