Fashion event to be held featuring the triacetate material Soalon
Students of Tokyo’s Bunka Gakuen University and Osaka’s Ueda College of Fashion will present their designs themed on “Wedding”
November 28, 2022
The Mitsubishi Chemical Group1 (the MCG Group) will host two fashion events together with Bunka Gakuen University (in Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, Japan) and Ueda College of Fashion (in Kita-ku, Osaka, Japan) respectively, both of which will feature the triacetate filament yarn called Soalon™ (“Soalon”).
Soalon is a triacetate filament yarn exclusive to our Group and not manufactured by anyone else in the world. It is a semi-synthetic fiber derived from plants, and is mainly made from wood pulp. The fashion events are being hosted from a desire to have students, who are the ones that will shape the future of the fashion industry, become familiar with the outstanding functionality and design freedom of Soalon, which is recently attracting attention from the apparel market both in and outside of Japan as being an environmentally friendly and sustainable material. The events also provide an opportunity for the MCG Group to work together with the students in developing new possibilities for this material. The two schools were given the common theme of “wedding.” In creating their designs, students selected material from Soalon’s Wedding Collection, which received favorable reviews at Premiere Vision Paris that was held in July 2022.
1. 16th Soalon Design Contest (Host: Bunka Gakuen University)
Outstanding designs (3 works) and special award designs (2 works) will be selected at the final round held in a fashion show format, featuring the final 15 designers and 30 works that had passed the first and second screenings from among the approximately 600 submissions.
The final 15 designs will be exhibited at our Group’s 2024 Spring & Summer Textile Material Exhibition that is scheduled to be held in May 2023.
Details of the final round (scheduled)
Date & Time: December 9, 2022 (Friday) 1:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Venue: B201 Hall at Bunka Gakuen University
Theme: Similar -Garden Wedding-
“Similar” refers to a style of fashion that is coordinated to have a common relatable look with your friends and loved ones, but with less of the sameness of a “pair look” (matching outfits). Applicants were asked to submit garden wedding styles that are not confined to gender as befitting today’s day and age.
Judges
・YUKINORI MORINAGA Designer Yukinori Morinaga
・THEATRE PRODUCTS Designer Akira Takeuchi
・motonari ono Designer Motonari Ono
・The Mitsubishi Chemical Group Textile Creator Keiko Fujino
About Bunka Gakuen University
Bunka Gakuen is a university headquartered in the Shibuya Ward of Tokyo, Japan. The school was founded in 1923 with a focus on fashion education. It is an educational organization that leads the world in the study of fashion. Bunka Fashion College, which is affiliated with Bunka Gakuen and specializes in fashion arts, ranked in second place in a global ranking of fashion schools announced in 2015 by The Business of Fashion, a web media based in London.
2. 150th Ueda Gakuen Collection 2023
This is an annual event with fashion shows, styling shows, pop-up shops, and exhibits of various works. Every year, it attracts more than 3,000 visitors per day. Ueda College of Fashion develops many collections, and among them, Soalon textiles will be provided to 15 students who passed the highly competitive screening process and earned their spot in the Wedding Collection. Original designs, created by the students on their own as their graduation project, will be presented on the runway worn by professional models.
Details of the Presentation (scheduled)
Date : January 21, 2023 (Saturday)
Time : First show 1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. (maximum of 90 minutes)
Second show 4:30 p.m. - 6:10 p.m. (maximum of 100 minutes, including award ceremony)
Venue : Knowledge Capital Congrès Convention Center
https://kc-i.jp/access/guide-08/
Theme: Moonlight Wedding
This is a collection inspired by the music of “Clair de la Lune” and “Arabesque” created by the French impressionist composer Debussy. Luxurious wedding dresses will be presented, created based on using dressy materials added with multiple layers of such materials as tulle and chiffon to create a flowing silhouette, decorated with beads, rhinestones, lace and delicate hand embroidery, to express the atmosphere of a moonlit night.
About Ueda College of Fashion
Ueda College of Fashion is headquartered in Osaka City of Osaka Prefecture, Japan, and was founded in 1941 as a school focusing on fashion education. The college has been offering global educational programs, which includes having exhibited five times at the world’s most renowned Paris Collection. Through such efforts, the school, located in the trend-setting Umeda area of Osaka City, has been educating professional talents that will be able to develop their business on a global level.
Soalon is a triacetate filament yarn exclusive to our Group and not manufactured by anyone else in the world. It is a semi-synthetic fiber derived from plants, and is mainly made from wood pulp. The fashion events are being hosted from a desire to have students, who are the ones that will shape the future of the fashion industry, become familiar with the outstanding functionality and design freedom of Soalon, which is recently attracting attention from the apparel market both in and outside of Japan as being an environmentally friendly and sustainable material. The events also provide an opportunity for the MCG Group to work together with the students in developing new possibilities for this material. The two schools were given the common theme of “wedding.” In creating their designs, students selected material from Soalon’s Wedding Collection, which received favorable reviews at Premiere Vision Paris that was held in July 2022.
1. 16th Soalon Design Contest (Host: Bunka Gakuen University)
Outstanding designs (3 works) and special award designs (2 works) will be selected at the final round held in a fashion show format, featuring the final 15 designers and 30 works that had passed the first and second screenings from among the approximately 600 submissions.
The final 15 designs will be exhibited at our Group’s 2024 Spring & Summer Textile Material Exhibition that is scheduled to be held in May 2023.
Details of the final round (scheduled)
Date & Time: December 9, 2022 (Friday) 1:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Venue: B201 Hall at Bunka Gakuen University
Theme: Similar -Garden Wedding-
“Similar” refers to a style of fashion that is coordinated to have a common relatable look with your friends and loved ones, but with less of the sameness of a “pair look” (matching outfits). Applicants were asked to submit garden wedding styles that are not confined to gender as befitting today’s day and age.
Judges
・Tokyo Soir Co., Ltd. President Junichi Koizumi (Chief Judge)
・Rawtus Designer Hisako Sato・YUKINORI MORINAGA Designer Yukinori Morinaga
・THEATRE PRODUCTS Designer Akira Takeuchi
・motonari ono Designer Motonari Ono
・The Mitsubishi Chemical Group Textile Creator Keiko Fujino
About Bunka Gakuen University
Bunka Gakuen is a university headquartered in the Shibuya Ward of Tokyo, Japan. The school was founded in 1923 with a focus on fashion education. It is an educational organization that leads the world in the study of fashion. Bunka Fashion College, which is affiliated with Bunka Gakuen and specializes in fashion arts, ranked in second place in a global ranking of fashion schools announced in 2015 by The Business of Fashion, a web media based in London.
2. 150th Ueda Gakuen Collection 2023
This is an annual event with fashion shows, styling shows, pop-up shops, and exhibits of various works. Every year, it attracts more than 3,000 visitors per day. Ueda College of Fashion develops many collections, and among them, Soalon textiles will be provided to 15 students who passed the highly competitive screening process and earned their spot in the Wedding Collection. Original designs, created by the students on their own as their graduation project, will be presented on the runway worn by professional models.
Details of the Presentation (scheduled)
Date : January 21, 2023 (Saturday)
Time : First show 1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. (maximum of 90 minutes)
Second show 4:30 p.m. - 6:10 p.m. (maximum of 100 minutes, including award ceremony)
Venue : Knowledge Capital Congrès Convention Center
https://kc-i.jp/access/guide-08/
Theme: Moonlight Wedding
This is a collection inspired by the music of “Clair de la Lune” and “Arabesque” created by the French impressionist composer Debussy. Luxurious wedding dresses will be presented, created based on using dressy materials added with multiple layers of such materials as tulle and chiffon to create a flowing silhouette, decorated with beads, rhinestones, lace and delicate hand embroidery, to express the atmosphere of a moonlit night.
About Ueda College of Fashion
Ueda College of Fashion is headquartered in Osaka City of Osaka Prefecture, Japan, and was founded in 1941 as a school focusing on fashion education. The college has been offering global educational programs, which includes having exhibited five times at the world’s most renowned Paris Collection. Through such efforts, the school, located in the trend-setting Umeda area of Osaka City, has been educating professional talents that will be able to develop their business on a global level.
