2023.12.11
The Fusion of Analog & Digital Education Envisioned by 'Tokyo Fashion Technology Lab', Japan's First Fashion Tech School
In the first installment of our special feature 'Fashion Tech and Education,' we report on the efforts of 'Tokyo Fashion Technology Lab (hereinafter referred to as TFL),' Japan's first educational institution for learning fashion tech.
TFL originated with the aim of cultivating talents who can change the domestic fashion industry, which is undergoing a period of transformation, by utilizing ICT and the latest digital technologies. The school opened in April 2017.
They are known as a pioneering educational institution that has been committed to education that combines fashion and technology, even before the term 'fashion tech' became prevalent in society.
In this article, we speak with Yuji Ichikawa, the Representative of FMB Inc., the operating company of TFL; Junko Tanaka, the school director of TFL; and Susumu Inarida, an advisor at Azuma Co., Ltd., who launched both TFL and the 'Fashion Digital Twin Study Group' and is working on digitizing Japanese sewing technology. We discuss the background of how the school was established, trends and challenges in education up to the present day, achievements, and future prospects.
Establishing a Specialized School for Fashion Tech
TFL is a specialty school that was opened in April 2017, established by Ichikawa in August 2016 in Harajuku, Tokyo, with the concept of 'Fashion Revolution – From Harajuku to the World with Fashion Tech'.
Originally, after working actively as a planner, designer, and buyer at several fashion-related companies, Ichikawa was involved in fashion education for 13 years at his alma mater, VANTAN.
Ichikawa explains that he founded TFL and embarked on the path of fashion tech education due to the connection between the global event 'Decoded Fashion' held in Tokyo in 2015 and his own awareness of a problem.
"Over the years of my involvement in education, I have felt that Japan's fashion education is lagging compared to the West.
"Especially after the bubble economy collapsed, Japanese designers were having difficulty making a breakthrough overseas, and the so-called digital transformation of fashion was also lagging. I felt that in order to change this, we needed to cultivate personnel who could innovate in new fields.
"Participating in 'Decoded Fashion' was the catalyst for realizing that various industries and technology were being combined in the form of X-Tech (cross tech) activities in the U.S. and other countries, and that there was a trend of startups trying to create new industries in Japan as well.
"Therefore, I decided to start TFL with the intention of changing the fashion industry with technology."
Changes in Educational Policy & Course Organization on Two Axes
Originally, the primary goal of the education was to support the founding and career growth of fashion start-ups using technology, as well as the cultivation of designers. However, as 3DCG software became more prevalent, changes began to manifest in TFL's educational approach."Embarking on a fashion-based entrepreneurial venture isn't particularly high-stakes, so in the beginning, we envisioned steering towards producing talents who can set up brand businesses or revolutionize supply chains in distribution businesses by altering the process of purchasing and selling.
"However, upon encountering 3DCG tools for fashion like CLO, we realized the need for 3D modelers – talents who can transform industries using 3DCG. So, to keep pace with the new occupational domains and capabilities of the digital era, we established the 'Virtual Fashion Designer Course' in 2019.
"We now arrange courses around the two main tracks of nurturing start-up founders and 3DCG modelers and conduct our education accordingly."
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