Filipino Wins Japan Fashion Design Contest
A sketch of the grand prize winning entry (image taken from the brochure of the 48th Japan Fashion Design Contest)
Filipino fashion designer Jerome Allen Lorico won the grand prize at the 48th Japan Fashion Design Contest held last 16 October 2010 at the Meguro Gajoen Hotel in Tokyo.
Lorico’s win marked the first time that a foreigner won in the prestigious competition after 47 years.
Lorico won the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Award (Grand Prize) and two special corporate awards from the Japan Cotton Industry Association and Onward (one of the biggest apparel companies in Japan). Lorico was among the 50 finalists chosen from a field of around 2,500 entries world wide after a rigorous and stringent screening process. Lorico was awarded a ¥1 million cash prize along with a trophy, certificates, and commemorative gifts. Lorico was joined by two other finalists from the Philippines, Nicole Michael P. Mori and Marian V. Andrada.
Lorico’s all-black entry, titled “Ink and Water”, utilized a unique textile he helped conceptualize which was made from conventional and Philippine fabrics such as cotton and piña. His entry took inspiration from the theme of this year’s contest, “Steer for the Future 2020 Autumn/Winter”.
Organized by the Dressmaker Fashion Educational Promotion Committee and Sugino Gakuen (Sugino Fashion College), the contest’s board of judges for this year was headed by noted Japanese fashion maven Hanae Mori, SOMARTA fashion designer Tamae Hirokawa, Boutique-sha CEO Akira Naito, Senken h Chief Editor Kosuke Nagamatsu, and INFAS Publication, WWD Japan Chief Editor Kazuyuki Yamamuro.
The Japan Fashion Contest has a 48-year history and is highly respected in Japan. It has also been known as a gateway to the fashion industry. Previous Philippine entries to contest have also fared well with a finalist winning a special incentive award in 2007 and three finalists in 2009 with one winning an award in the fashion design category and another in the sketch category.
