Tokyo Fashion Week: Japanese Designer Takafumi Tsuruta Shows The World What A Diverse Catwalk Looks Like

Tokyo Fashion Week Shows The World What A Diverse Catwalk Looks Like

The fashion industry's attempts to embrace greater diversity have often been accused of tokenism, but that certainly wasn't the case at the tenbo spring/summer 2016 show at Tokyo Fashion Week.

Models in wheelchairs and with canes took to the catwalk on 13 October, alongside transgender models and models of varying ages, proving the long-held idea that models have to be a certain shape or size is a myth.

"It is just natural for me that there are models with different personalities," said designer Takafumi Tsuruta, according to ShinyShiny.

"You may think such a world is like a utopia, but it is the real world we live in. I want to showcase it through fashion."

Tenbo's brand mission statement is to create clothes that are inclusive of "all people of the world".

As well as challenging the lack of diversity seen on other catwalks Tsuruta's show also had a political theme:

"The theme is 1945," Tsuruta said, when asked to sum up his 2016 spring/summer collection.

"It is a tough subject, but I thought I can express it through fashion."

Takafumi Tsuruta's Japan Fashion Week Collection

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