Tokyo Bunkamura will display a collection of dresses by designer Tomo Koizumi during Shibuya Fashion Week from March 15 to March 30! Koizumi is known around the world for utilizing frills and unique colors in his creations.    Tomo Koizumi provided costumes for MISIA, who sang the national anthem at the Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony. The dresses on display are from the Spring/Summer 2022 collection, and what better place than Bunkamura to display them? The museum is a major supporter of local culture and art and shouldn’t be missed on a trip to Tokyo!

Tomo Koizumi is one of Japan’s most popular up-and-coming young designers. At a young age, he began creating custom outfits for his female friends, and eventually, the editor of Vogue Italia Sara Maino posted an image of his incredible work on Instagram, netting him instant fame. Now, the creator is collaborating with Marc Jacobs on a Japan-only collection scheduled to be released on November 17, 2021.      At the 2019 New York Fashion Week, Koizumi was invited by Marc Jacobs to show his designs at the Marc Jacobs Madison Avenue store. The designer is known for his experimental and unique approach to clothing, always managing to shock audiences. This new collaboration will feature a number of colorful pieces featuring the signature stylings of Marc Jacob with Tomo Koizumi’s incredible ruffles. To celebrate this new limited-edition collab, Koizumi himself appears in many of the campaign images. Actress Yumi Adachi will also appear as a model.    Marc Jacobs’ iconic bag ‘The Snapshot’ serves as the centerpiece of the collection, along with plenty of ruffles and hairbands. A special series of one-of-a-kind garments handcrafted from scrap stock fabrics laying around in Jacobs’ atelier will be sold in limited quantities.    Tomo Koizumi x Marc Jacobs pop-up stores will appear at Isetan Shinjuku and HANKYU Umeda for a limited time from November 17 until November 23, 2021.   

The Recording Industry Association of Japan has published its official rankings for February 2021 gold disk records, revealing that Japanese boy bands King & Prince and SixTONES have been certified Double Platinum with their latest singles while SKE48, Kanjani Eight, Kis-My-Ft2, Johnny's West, MISIA, and King & Prince again were certified Platinum. Check out the record-selling tracks below.  

Double Platinum Ranking

King ＆ Prince - "koi-wazurai" (Single)SixTONES - "Boku ga Boku Janai Mitai da" (Single)  

 Platinum Ranking

SKE48 - "Koiochi Flag" (Single)   Kanjani Eight - "Kimi to Mitai Sekai" (Single) Kis-My-Ft2 - "Luv Bias" (Single)   Johnny's West - "Shuukan Umaku Iku Youbi" (Single)   MISIA - "Super Best Records -15th Celebration-" (Album)   King ＆ Prince - "King ＆ Prince CONCERT TOUR 2020 〜L＆〜" (Video)   Six records including two singles, three albums, and one video went Gold in January.

Japanese R&B, soul and pop singer-songwriter MISIA performed at the Sony Hall in New York on May 12 as part of "Japan 2019 presents Japan Night." This was her first ever live performance in the Big Apple and she succeeded in serving the crowd an overwhelming show. Sony Hall and the PlayStation Theatre are two locations that are part of the Japan 2019 event where popular artists from Japan brought Japanese culture to foreign music lovers. Acts included big names such as PUFFY, HYDE of L’Arc-en-Ciel, Wagakki Band and more, not to mention MISIA. 3,000 people were spread across both venues―both of which sold out. MISIA's 12-track set list spanned from her debut number Tsutsumi Komu Youni all the way to her latest song Ai no Katachi (feat. HIDE GReeeeN) for which she performed alongside a live band spearheaded by New York-based Japanese jazz trumpeter Takuya Kuroda.   MISIA's incredible vocals were bolstered by the unrivalled musicianship dished out by her stage band. Each of them played their instruments with expert grace and talent which rippled through the sold-out venue. As soon as the performance begun the audience showed heated excitement. At the end of the performance rock band PUFFY joined the stage as special guests. They sung their own hit songs such as Electric Beach Fever and True Asia alongside MISIA in their first-ever live performance together. MISIA released her thirteenth album Life Is Going On and On on December 26, 2018.   Photography: Mayumi Nashida