Finals judge

President, LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton Japan

Mr Norbert Leuret

Born in France. Mr Leuret began his career in Japan in 1983 at the Honorary Consulate of France, the Embassy of France. In 1997, he was appointed President of Kenzo Japan. In 2003, he was appointed President of Hachette Fujingaho Co., Ltd. and Representative Director and CEO of Zara Japan. He has been in his current post since 2016.

Finals judge

Designer/artist

Ms Tomoe Shinohara

Ms Shinohara is a design major graduate of the Faculty of Fashion Science at Bunka Gakuen University Junior College. Through her activities as a singer, narrator, and actress, she has worked in various fields, including films, dramas, and adverts. In 2020, she established her creative studio STUDEO, together with art director Tatsuki Ikezawa. The Ezo deerskin kimono they produced won two New York ADC Awards, an international advertising award.

Preliminary judge

General manager, LVHM Watch & Jewellery Japan Division Director and General manager, Chaumet

Ms Naoko Kabaya

Ms Kabaya is a graduate of the Faculty of Law, University of Tokyo. After working as an analyst in the M&A department of a foreign financial institution and as a consultant for a foreign consulting company, she held positions in planning, retail, marketing and digital marketing at Cartier, Louis Vuitton, and De Beers Diamond Jewellers before assuming her current position as general manager of Chaumet, a Paris-based high-end jeweller since the 18th century, in Japan.

Preliminary judge

Curator/Chairwoman, The Kyoto Costume Institute

Ms Akiko Fukai

Ms Fukai has worked for the Kyoto Costume Institute since 1979 and has organised the Japonisme in Fashion exhibition and other exhibitions. She is currently the chairman and honorary curator. She was awarded the Mainichi Fashion Grand Prix Special Prize in 1989, the Commissioner for Cultural Affairs Award in 2008 and the Award for Distinguished Service to Art by Kyoto City in 2011. She was appointed a member of the Academic Committee of the Musée Yves Saint Laurent Paris in 2017. She is the author of Kimono and Japonisme and other publications.

Preliminary judge

DJ/Kimono stylist

Mademoiselle Yulia

Mademoiselle Yulia began working as a DJ and singer in her teens. After graduating from Kyoto University of Arts, she has been DJing, writing columns, styling kimonos, and holding classes in kimono dressing. In 2020, she styled the main visual elements for the kimono exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum in the UK. Her YouTube channel, Lily and Kimono, is streamed weekly.

Textile designer

Ms Reiko Sudo

Ms Sudo was born in Ishioka, Ibaraki Prefecture. She is the design director of the NUNO Corporation and professor emeritus at Tokyo Zokei University. Since 2008, she has been advising on textile design for Ryohin Keikaku, Yamagata Prefecture Tsuruoka Textile Industry Co-operative and others, and since 2016 has been on the advisory board of Ryohin Keikaku Co., Ltd. Her work is in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Victoria and Albert Museum and others.