DESIGN TIDE TOKYO 2008 :: Japan-Fashion.com

Autumn is a season in which creators from various industries such as architecture, textiles, fashion and art gather in Tokyo to showcase their latest projects and ideas to the rest of the design community and beyond.
Roppongi's Tokyo Midtown alone housed The Good Design Awards, Design Touch and DesignTide Tokyo events, arguably warranting calls for Tokyo's tallest building, the Midtown Tower to be more aptly renamed Design Tower.

Designers and manufacturers from fields of interior design, product design, architecture, graphic design, textiles, art and fashion congregate annually in this global city to trade under one roof, making the significance of this highly regarded convention as much about being a melting pot for every imaginable aspect from the design world as it is a simmering hub of information.
Each autumn, this is a Tokyo eager to transmit redefined conceptions about design and a reconsidered vision of what such an event should encompass.
Still in its formative years, DesignTide Tokyo shows formidable potential in becoming a more and more innovative and exciting occasion on the global design stage.

Tokyo Midtown Hall was the main exhibition site in 2008, with a number of extension sites spread elsewhere around the city.

At the heart of DesignTide 2008 was Tide Exhibition, a forum for designers, manufacturers and buyers to meet head-on, offer products and trade creations.

The entrance to the hall was given an almost magical luster as non woven fabrics tranquilly illuminated the way inside. The floor itself was separated into two halls and regardless of the size of the event space, these faintly lit cloth partitions infused the entire arena in an intimate creative atmosphere.

Many of the creators showcasing at this year's event were in their twenties and thirties. This emphasis on youth serves to anticipate future trends, but also provides these highly skilled young professionals with a fertile ground from which to develop. Perhaps we are at the gateways of a revolution in Japanese design and a serious recognition and movement towards the future.

In reality, the source of fashion takes various forms. So, we can only seek to perceive these differing guises as best we can. Although there are times when the impact of trends in fashion is unclear, it's influence is still certain. For that matter, we must put into perspective that what strikes us emerging from these continuing trends in fashion, music and design. However, as people we usually aren't resistant to this kind of paradox. Yet in that lies what is intriguing.

Despite everyone knowing the companies, we weren't made aware of the financial backing of sponsors during this exhibition due to their lack of physical presence, leaving us with the impression of a strong support for the power of youth easing in. The ability, good sense and foresight of the exhibitors and those from sponsoring companies have heralded the breaking of borders in Japanese advertising firms. What's more, from the fashion industry's point of view, this style of exhibition is ideally suited for buyers.

The soft power of Japan is gradually taking form. This was an exhibition felt to be platform for that.

Japan-Fashion.com

DesignTide Tokyo 2008