Four brands named as winners of JFW Digital Grand Prix 2024

The Japan Fashion Week Organisation (JFWO) has announced the four winners of this year’s JFW Digital Grand Prix, recognising brands that have excelled in the realm of digital presentation.

While the jury collectively agreed that no work presented this year “would lead to new challenges or the development of digital expression”, and as such there were no outstandingly high evaluations, the group selected four of the higher ranking 21 applicants to receive a ‘Special Award’ in place of the usual ‘Grand Prix’.

These include Emi Funayama’s Fetico; Mintdesigns of Hokuto Katsui and Nao Yagi; Kohichi Watanabe’s Rainmaker; and Shinya Kozuka and Shimpei Kajiura’s brand Shinyakozuka. Each of the winning brands will receive a cash prize of 250,000 yen (1,254 pounds).

The concept for the awards was formulated in FY23 following the pandemic, during which digital presentations were used as alternatives to traditional modes of presentation, causing an influx in the medium among designers.

When initially launched, the awards were open to all brands participating in digital participation for each season, however the initiative has now expanded to include digital collections and promotional videos and imagery presented over the course of the year.