Tokyo to promote Japanese fashion

TOKYO, May 31 (UPI) -- Japan's fashion industry will stage a "Japan fashion week" in Tokyo this autumn to promote Japanese brands to the world.

The event, which is scheduled to run from the end of October to the beginning of November, will be promoted as "a Paris collection with Tokyo style," the Mainichi Shimbun reported Tuesday.

Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Shoichi Nakagawa introduced plans for the fashion show at a news conference Tuesday.

Although a series of Japanese fashion designers, such as Rei Kawakubo, became famous during the 1980s, they often moved their bases of work overseas. The Japanese fashion industry decided that a Japanese fashion week, similar to those in New York and Milan, was needed to promote Japanese fashion to the world.

Ministry officials hope the fashion week will also stimulate the production of attractive fabrics that are found only in Japan, thereby supporting fabric manufacturers.