“Tokyo Style – Harajuku Streets” - Japanese Fashion Show

A Japanese fashion show titled “Tokyo Style – Harajuku Streets” will be held at noon Feb. 15 at the University of Arkansas - Fort Smith.

The show, slated for the Reynolds Room of the Smith-Pendergraft Campus Center, will include contemporary fashion styles popular among young people in Tokyo, according to Yoko Kowata, Japanese program coordinator at UA Fort Smith.

“The contemporary part of the fashion show features Harajuku,” said Kowata, “which is an area around Tokyo’s Harajuku Station. It is the center of Japan’s most extreme teenage cultures and fashion styles.”

Kowata, who said the event is free and open to the public, indicated that Harajuku has become a fashion capital of the world because of its renowned and unique street fashion.

“Prominent designers and fashion ideas have sprung from Harajuku and incorporated themselves into other fashions throughout the world,” she said. “Harajuku fashion consists of elements primarily from America and Great Britain and spans all aspects of popular fashion including clothing, makeup and hair styles.”

The fashion show, which also includes more traditional Japanese fashions, is a collaboration between public school students in Fort Smith and the Japan Club at UA Fort Smith and is one of the activities coordinated on campus through the Office of International Relations, which provides various programs of study abroad as well as exchange programs.

“This is a great opportunity for all students to get a glimpse of Japanese fashions and culture, so we hope many students will take time to see what is included,” said Kowata.

Kowata, who came to UA Fort Smith this year, is seeking to enhance the understanding of Japan by expanding outreach programming in the region. She teaches Japanese culture and language on campus and gives Japanese cultural presentations at public schools and various organizations in the community.

Kowata is here through a partnership with the Japan Outreach Initiative, which was designed and is funded by the Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership (CGP) and the Laurasian Institution. The CGP’s mission is to promote collaboration between Japan and the United States to fulfill shared global responsibilities and to enhance dialogue and interchange between Japanese and U.S. institutions and individuals. The Laurasian Institution is responsible for monitoring the progress of the coordinator at UA Fort Smith and those in other states.

For more information on the fashion show, contact Kowata by telephone at 479-788-7162 or by e-mail at ykowata@uafortsmith.edu. For further information about international programs, go to www.uafortsmith.edu/international or contact Takeo Suzuki, executive director for international relations, by telephone at 479-788-7166 or by e-mail at tsuzuki@uafortsmith.edu.

Event name:  “Tokyo Style – Harajuku Streets” - Japanese Fashion Show