While Japan’s fashion business has come to hold a significant position on the global stage, it has long faced persistent challenges. Chief among these is the lack of managerial understanding among designers and modelists, and the insufficient knowledge and understanding of design and technology among business leaders.　When fashion is regarded as a global business, not only original design and advanced technical skills, but also multifaceted perspectives such as management, finance, production management, and quality control become essential. Accordingly, there is a growing need to cultivate the next generation of leaders who can integrate both creative and managerial perspectives in shaping the future of the fashion industry. Against this backdrop, BFGU was established in 2006 as Japan’s first professional graduate school specializing in fashion, combining the achievements and know-how of Bunka Gakuen, an educational foundation that has played a leading role in fashion education in Japan for over a century. Through an educational approach that bridges theory and practice, BFGU aims to nurture “new creators” who can establish their own brands and business models and thrive globally in the next era of the fashion business.

As Japan’s only graduate university that aims to nurture fashion professionals, BFGU offers unique and excellent features. First, it integrates the field of fashion creation with fashion management to learn the practical skills required to manage creative and design skills. With the unprecedented combination of these two divisions, the graduate school implements high-level education to foster the growth of professionals. Second, the graduate students can make extensive use of the world-leading premises and facilities that Educational Foundation Bunka Gakuen has developed and accumulated over the years. Third, the graduate university organizes various industry-academia collaborative projects to offer students opportunities to gain practical business experience. Based on this enriched, well-rounded environment for education and research, students are able to acquire not only theories but also practical knowledge and techniques enabling them to take their first steps as job-ready professionals in the fashion industry.

Students from the Fashion Design Course participated in the field trip program of the “KOYORI PROJECT 2025.” This international initiative connects students from Japan and Thailand and aims to preserve and modernize traditional crafts in the mountainous regions of Thailand. As part of the program, students collaborated with Thai students in workshops and engaged in five days of fieldwork at various artisan studios throughout Northern Thailand. Through these immersive on-site explorations, they experienced local craftsmanship firsthand and deepened their understanding of traditional production methods.

Our Fashion Business Administration course has implemented an exchange program with graduate students from the Parsons School of Design, USA, since 2022 focusing on the unique trends in the US-Japan fashion market to provide in-depth knowledge for participating students. A global macro point of view for the future of the fashion industry can definitely be nurtured through the search for similarities and features on the US-Japan fashion consumer market.

Our Fashion Business Administration Course conducted an Industry-Academia-Government collaborative project within its “PBL” curriculum, focused on promoting the apparel industry in Sumida City and revitalizing the area. In
collaboration with Sumida City and Orange Tokyo Ltd., the project aimed at proposing solutions for enhancing brand value, diversifying global sales channels, and attracting tourists, while researching strategies to draw public attention to the apparel industry in Sumida City.

In the second-year required course “Final Research & Collection,” our Fashion Technology Course has a “Branding Simulation” project with
BULA Co., Ltd., a company operating its original brand “1.TEM” and provides OEM/ODM services. Designed to prepare students to be career-ready upon graduation, this initiative features special lectures and technical guidance. By creating garments in line with actual apparel production workflows, from planning to sample sewing, students acquire highly practical skills. This project offers invaluable insights into new value creation and marketability.

In our Fashion Design Course, we are collaborating with Dormeuil Japon, which specializes in the wholesale of luxury fabrics and the production of made-to-measure suits, to create original works using their high-quality materials. This initiative provides special lectures on brand stories, fabric samples, and products, along with boutique visits to learn about their heritage of world-class material and their craftsmanship spirit.
Selected students then use their choice of luxury fabrics to produce their own creations. The process allows students to acquire practical, advanced creative skills while utilizing luxury materials.