This is Kubo.
On March 17th, 2025, yoshiokubo held a runway show for its Fall/Winter 2025 Collection "KESSAKU" at Asakusa Hanayashiki, also known as "Japan's first amusement park." In this article, we would like to express our gratitude, apologies, and share our thoughts on the event.

Until the stage is set

The response to the previous show* was so overwhelming that I began preparations for the 2025FW show feeling an unusual amount of pressure. In the end, I think we were able to create an interesting show that no one had ever done before. *Excited! Looking back on the one-night-only "Yoshimoto Shinkigeki Fashion Show"

To be honest, I had a lot of trouble choosing the venue for this event. I consulted with many people asking, "Do you have any good ideas?" and candidates kept coming up and disappearing. After much deliberation, I decided to play a special "card" that I had been thinking about doing for a long time.

That venue was Asakusa Hanayashiki, which became the venue for this event. When I contacted them, they were able to secure the exact date I wanted! This made me feel like, "This is where I need to do my show."

So then we had to decide what kind of worldview we wanted to show, which was also a real challenge. My children had gone to Asakusa Hanayashiki many times when they were little, so I knew what kind of atmosphere it had, and I thought that the maze-like, extraordinary feel of the place would resonate with us in many ways. However, there are many elements in the amusement park, such as various decorations and letters, so it took a lot of ingenuity to combine these with the clothes we wanted to show and create a "single worldview."

Moreover, this time we decided to direct the show ourselves, so we were completely feeling our way around! I imagine that the staff at Asakusa Hanayashiki must have had many questions, such as "What kind of show will it be? What is about to begin?" and were probably confused at many points. However, everyone at Asakusa Hanayashiki was truly professional, and they took our hopes and vision into consideration and cooperated with us immensely. Once again, I am truly grateful!

Now that the stage is set, it's time for sound and lighting. These elements need to fit perfectly in order for the worldview to be felt by the eyes and ears. And yet, the hurdle here was that "this show would be directed by yoshiokubo staff." Normally, the director conveys the show's image to the sound and lighting teams, who then create the worldview. But with the yoshiokubo staff acting as the hub, it must have been difficult for us to figure out what kind of show it would be, what's about to happen, and what we wanted to achieve. But both the sound and lighting teams are professionals! They listened to our requests and created the most amazing worldview for yoshiokubo Fall/Winter 2025.

It was hectic backstage at the show! Despite some unfortunate incidents, the show ended safely

The show is finally about to begin.
The weather forecast for that week had predicted "possible stormy weather," but it turned out to be sunny on the day! What a relief! That's because there was a reason why we absolutely wanted sunny weather for this show. We'll reveal the reason later.

As soon as the doors opened, we ushered the customers in...
Let me apologise here.
On the day of the event, it seemed that there were areas where the show could not be seen at all. I am truly sorry that people had taken the time to come.

But the show goes on.
In particular, the yoshiokubo Fall/Winter 2025 show, titled "KESSAKU," was based on the seasonal concept of "a collection that embodies the possibilities of impossibly complex and diverse extreme patterns." There were many styles of clothing that they wanted to show, and they were going to have 30 models walk through them, so the backstage was a complete mess! There was also a gimmick planned at the very last minute, so I myself was on the move more than usual.
You can watch the video from the day here, so please watch it normally the first time. From the second time onwards, we hope you'll watch it while imagining what it was like behind the scenes!



For the finale, nearly 30 models walked out one after another, and the show came to a close when a model carrying a huge yak bag finished walking.

Normally, the designer would come out after this and there would be applause, but since we were at Asakusa Hanayashiki, we decided to end the event by having the designer appear on a roller coaster, making the audience go, "Wow, he's coming out from there?" This was something that was only possible because the setting was Asakusa Hanayashiki. It was quite nerve-wracking trying to figure out the right timing for him to appear.

The "fun" part this time is enjoy! It would be a shame to just go home after the show is over!

This has been a show packed with content, but as I've said many times before, this is Asakusa Hanayashiki. I thought it would be a waste to just leave after watching the runway like a normal show, and more than anything, I wanted to do something fun and make everyone feel like they'd done a great job, so I prepared content for everyone to enjoy together.

By the way, the "kessaku" mentioned here is the Osaka dialect "kessaku," and is used in a slightly different sense than the so-called "extremely excellent work, the best work." It's the kind of word you blurt out when you come across a punchline that's different from what you expected, and it's not just "interesting," but also means "I was impressed" or "I'd never thought of that."

So how did the event go? We had ring toss, target shooting, and amusement park attractions. And Yoshiokubo appeared as a mascot character. We created a one-night-only "festival space" that was just like the stalls and bazaars at a school festival, so that everyone could have fun. It seems that everyone had a blast, as all the prizes prepared for the target shooting were gone, and even the towels prepared as giveaways were gone. It seems that some people even said, "I want to be a stall owner too!" The yoshiokubo staff actually got to experience a little bit of the backstage area of ​​an amusement park, experienced the joy of running a food stall, and put on a truly enjoyable show. We owe it all to the people at Asakusa Hanayashiki and the sound and lighting departments that we were able to have such an experience. In particular, the Hanayashiki staff had probably never been involved in a fashion show before, and they must have been anxious as we were feeling our way around. But they cooperated with the sound and lighting departments with such passion and enthusiasm, saying "Let's do it!!" and I felt that we were truly blessed with such great people.

Of course, it goes without saying that the show was made possible thanks to the enjoyment of everyone who came. There is surely no other show like it. One staff member said, "The moment it finished, the word 'gratitude' came to mind." That's really how I felt, and looking up at Sensoji Temple and Skytree on my way out, they felt even more beautiful than usual.

In our previous collaboration with Yoshimoto Shinkigeki, we had people experience something "funny" through the show, but we are confident that this time, people were able to experience something "enjoyable." So, what kind of "fun" will we create next?
In fact, I already have an idea!

We're quite confident, so please look forward to it with excitement!

Until then, be sure to check out the items from yoshiokubo's Spring/Summer 2025 Collection, "Shu, Ha, Ri, Jizai"!
Check out the items from the 2025SS collection here