The Bunka Fashion College Culture Festival will be held from Sunday, November 1 to Tuesday, November 3, 2026 (a national holiday), at Bunka Fashion College in Yoyogi, Shibuya, Tokyo. Bunka Fashion College has led fashion education in Japan since its founding in the Taisho era and has produced many creators who are active around the world. Its culture festival is the school's biggest event, and the main attraction is the Part I (daytime division) fashion show, themed "roots."
The show welcomes more than 10,000 visitors every year. About 700 enrolled students create all of it, from concept planning, design, sewing, model direction, hair and makeup, video, sound and lighting to stage construction, venue operation and PR.
Show Theme "roots"
The word "roots" stands for the idea of respecting each person's individuality and differences, while moving toward a new form of the culture festival built on the traditions and history accumulated through past festivals.
The history Bunka Fashion College has built over more than 100 years, and what has been handed down through past culture festivals, are seen as the "roots" that support the students. Rather than simply inheriting these roots, the students respect each person's individuality and differences, turn them into new strength and aim to grow new "roots" from this culture festival.
Build on the past, create the present and connect to the future.
This year's fashion show introduces a "director of staging" role and puts more effort into stage direction than ever. Staging and costumes are treated as one, which raises the collection-like quality of the show, and the show consists of seven scenes that draw on the costumes and expression unique to Bunka Fashion College. It also takes on new challenges, such as pieces made with Italian fabric and a collaboration with a sound artist, aiming for a show that feels closer to the real fashion industry.
Under the "roots" theme, the show carries on tradition while moving toward a new kind of Bunka Fashion College fashion show. The moment when each person's differences coexist and overlap, and new "roots" are born, is presented through the fashion show.
Collaboration with the Magazine 装苑
Last year, a lookbook was produced in collaboration with the magazine 装苑, published by Bunka Publishing Bureau, which leads Japanese mode and marked its 90th anniversary of first publication.
The collaboration continues this year. The cover features Ayu Okuda of "SWEET STEADY," a group that sends Japanese idol culture to the world, adding a new color to this year's culture festival fashion show.
Sales information:
- Price: ¥1,800
- Sale period: during the culture festival (November 1 to 3)
- Planned contents: runway looks centered on student models, and scenes of production behind the stage
Details will be announced in a later release.
In addition, the photographed looks are also featured in a digital program that can be viewed on the web. This year's digital program covers the efforts of students in each production department up close, a section that was renewed last year, and also includes looks focusing on accessories such as headpieces, shoes and bags, so that the fine details of the show costumes can be seen.
Ayu Okuda
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/okudaayu/
Ayu Okuda is a member of the seven-member idol group SWEET STEADY. Born in 2001, she is active not only as an idol but also as a model for fashion magazines.
In August 2026, the group held "SWEET STEADY ARENA LIVE 2026 -SUMMER- STEADY → REVOLUTION" at Pia Arena MM. A "3rd ANNIVERSARY LIVE" marking the third anniversary has been announced for March 2027 at Nippon Budokan.
Her Instagram, where her distinctive fashion sense shines, has drawn attention and has more than 510,000 followers (as of October 2026).
Show Structure and Highlights
The fashion show "roots" is made up of seven scenes featuring 81 pieces in total.
CONCRETE JUNGLE
This scene is based on the concept of plants newly growing and coexisting in a city that has lost its greenery. Highlights include staging that blends sound evoking the city with looks evoking plants, and the use of ribbons and cords made possible through a collaboration with SHINDO Co., Ltd.
STACT
As the scene name, which combines "Stillness" and "Tactical," suggests, the scene is built on reliable functionality and blends into daily life while supporting the wearer's confidence and independence. Highlights include the three-dimensional silhouettes and presence unique to a show, which create an elegant, refined look, and the balance with everyday clothing of solid quality.
SHAPED FREEDOM
Based on a contrast between medieval Europe, where standards of beauty were set, and the present day, where standards of beauty are diverse, this scene lets each person express their own natural self. Changing eras, awareness and ways of being are expressed by wearing "freedom" and "being as one is," which originally have no form.
道
The path walked so far, and the future that continues. Highlights include clothing that mixes tradition and the present, inspired by martial arts (budo), and original textiles made with indigo dyeing and wax-resist dyeing (rōketsu-zome). Visitors can experience the "path" (道) portrayed together with music created in collaboration with a sound artist.
FLUX W
With the theme "from fixed styles to clothing that mutates," this scene is based on the concept of "Western x shape-shifting organisms." Typical Western details are overlaid with the fluidity of organisms such as amoebas, which change form according to their environment. The original paisley-style textiles are a highlight.
:Loop
This scene expresses, through costumes, the changes hidden in daily life. Days that seem to repeat the same thing are never quite the same. Wavering and hesitation pile up and eventually turn into a new step. Which moment are you in right now? Visitors are invited to feel the changes in the costumes and overlap them with their own time.
Signatures
This scene brings together contest-winning and selected works by current students, as well as collaboration works between departments and companies. Like a "signature" that symbolizes a brand or designer, each designer expresses their own worldview, sensibility and commitment through the costumes.
Aiming to Change the Bunka Fashion College Fashion Show
A major highlight this year is that the creation is carried out with the goal of "changing the Bunka Fashion College fashion show." Under the theme "roots," and based on the traditions and history built through past culture festivals, the show is produced from the viewpoint of "how to create a fashion show that is recognized by the fashion industry." The goal is to grow new "roots" for the Bunka Fashion College fashion show and connect them to the next generation.
To bring out the basic premise of a fashion show, "showing off the clothes," the staging is built so that lighting, sound, model movement, video and stage sets all come together as one space centered on the clothes.
Rather than overwhelming the audience with the momentum of flashy staging, the students aim to win them over with the persuasiveness of a space built from accumulated fine details. This year's fashion show is woven from that thinking and attention to detail.
GROOVE X × Bunka Fashion College: Fashion Proposals for a Future Living with LOVOT
The Industrial Merchandising Department (インダストリアルマーチャンダイジング科) of Bunka Fashion College is collaborating with GROOVE X, Inc., the developer of LOVOT, the world's first family-type robot born to be loved, to present "fashion proposals for a future living with LOVOT."
Set in a future life with LOVOT in 2035, where technology and emotional connection merge, the project assumes three situations, "going out," "daily life" and "special days," and proposes both "wear for LOVOT" and "wear for LOVOT users."
In production, each student imagined a day with LOVOT, set a vision of the future and a target customer, and decided on prices, materials and specifications that reflect not only the concept but also future price levels, then did the sewing. The two costumes that won the grand prize in the contest held for this initiative will appear on the runway in "Signatures," with LOVOT and its user both wearing costumes. Visitors can imagine their own life and the fashion industry 10 years from now while seeing the fusion of clothing and technology.
Note: Considering the design and specifications of the costumes, LOVOT is used in "dress-up mode."
"roots" × Sponsor Companies Exhibition
A themed exhibition connected to this year's "roots" theme is held in the gallery next to the show venue. It introduces the manufacturing efforts of the sponsor companies that supported the creation of the culture festival fashion show works. The textiles used in each scene of the show are displayed using the entire gallery space, creating an installation that condenses the world of each scene.
As a sustainable initiative of a school that represents fashion, a charm-making corner using offcuts produced during the creation of the works is also set up. By combining offcuts of different colors, patterns and materials, visitors can make an original charm of their own. In addition, as a perk for buying the lookbook, a special charm with a BUNKA logo plate (first come, first served) can be made.
The exhibition is a chance to learn about the sponsor companies that support the culture festival fashion show, and one of the few chances to closely observe and touch the textiles used in the show. Visitors can take home the memory of the three-day-only fashion show as a one-of-a-kind original charm.
SHINDO × Bunka Fashion College Special Contest Scene "CONCRETE JUNGLE"
Next-generation designers chosen by a judging session and an SNS popularity vote.
The best work of 2025
A university-industry collaboration project between SHINDO Co., Ltd., a Japanese maker of apparel trimmings with a global presence, and Bunka Fashion College will again be held this year in the culture festival fashion show scene "CONCRETE JUNGLE." Students freely use SHINDO materials such as ribbons, lace and braid, and take on new forms of expression with their own sensibility.
Judging has two parts, a judging session and an SNS popularity vote. The student chosen for the best work will have the piece displayed in the SHINDO booth at Première Vision, one of the world's largest textile trade fairs, held in Paris, France, in January 2027. As an additional prize, the designer is invited to Paris to experience the front lines of creation around the world.
- Judging method: A presentation judging session on Tuesday, October 20, and "like" voting on SHINDO's official Instagram
- Popularity vote period: Saturday, October 31, 4:30 PM to Wednesday, November 4, 11:59 AM
- SHINDO official Instagram: @shindo\_sic\_japan
JanSport × Bunka Fashion College Upcycle Project
A challenge by next-generation designers that combines sustainability and creativity.
A university-industry collaboration project between JanSport, a globally known outdoor bag brand, and Bunka Fashion College has started again this year. It is an upcycle project that reuses and reconstructs JanSport products and turns them into new designs. The works will be shown in "STACT," where, based on the brand's playful gimmicks and solid functionality, real clothes that somehow stay in memory are created.
Judging Method
Judging is carried out in two stages, judging by judges and a public vote.
- Judges' judging: A comprehensive evaluation based on the students' presentations and show footage
- Public vote: Photos of the works are published on the JanSport Japan official website, and voting takes place on the web
Awards and Prizes
The top three winners receive the following prizes.
| Rank | Prize |
|---|---|
| 1st | Introduction of the work on the JanSport Japan official website, plus ¥50,000 worth of JanSport products |
| 2nd | Introduction of the work on the JanSport Japan official website, plus ¥30,000 worth of JanSport products |
| 3rd | Introduction of the work on the JanSport Japan official website, plus ¥20,000 worth of JanSport products |
- JanSport Japan official website: https://jansport.co.jp/
Hair and Makeup Support from SABFA
Following last year, SABFA, the hair and makeup academy run by Shiseido Co., Ltd., will support the hair and makeup side of the students' show works. Direct instruction from SABFA instructors and students is expected to help students acquire skills and improve their expressiveness.
Support includes:
- Technical guidance about once a week from September to October 2026
- Hair and makeup support on the lookbook shooting day for the show works
- Hair and makeup support for the culture festival fashion show itself (November 1 to 3)
Culture Festival 2026 / Part I (Daytime Division) Fashion Show Details
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Culture festival dates | Sunday, November 1 to Tuesday, November 3 (national holiday), 2026 |
| Culture festival hours | 9:30 AM to 6:00 PM (until 4:00 PM on the last day) |
| Part I fashion show schedule | November 1 and 2: 11:00 AM / 1:00 PM / 3:00 PM / 4:30 PM / 6:00 PM November 3: 11:00 AM / 1:00 PM / 3:00 PM Doors open 20 minutes before each show |
| Admission to the fashion show | An entry ticket distributed at the entrance on the day is required. See the Culture Festival 2026 special site for details |
| Venue | Bunka Fashion College Endo Memorial Hall, Building F, large hall (遠藤記念館（F館）大ホール) |
| Address | 3-22-1 Yoyogi, Shibuya City, Tokyo |
| Access | Bunka Fashion College access page |
| Culture Festival 2026 special site | https://www.bunka-fc.ac.jp/event/culture-festival/ |
| Show committee official Instagram | @bunka\_show\_official (shares behind-the-scenes looks at the show, interviews with student designers and more) |
About the Culture Festival
The culture festival has drawn tens of thousands of visitors in past years and is the biggest event at Bunka Fashion College. Besides the fashion show, which draws attention from the fashion industry, it includes curriculum exhibitions by each department, RE・TENT (a festival-only real shop run by the Retail Planning Course), a bazaar, talk shows, workshops and an exhibition of winning works from a high school fashion design drawing contest.
