Mitsuru Nishizaki Wins DHL Designer Award

The 9th consecutive DHL Designer Award was awarded this week to Mitsuru Nishizaki, the designer behind Ujoh, who has been participating in Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Tokyo since the 2014 Spring/Summer show.

The award recognizes young, up-and-coming fashion designers in Japan with international potential. DHL Japan and Japan Fashion Week Organization (JFW Organization) selected the winner from a pool of promising fashion designers, who showcased their collections at the fashion week. The winner was selected based on creativity, design and the potential to go global.

Launched in 2009, Ujoh is a brand distinct in its elegant style. The brand has expanded its footprint internationally, to reach clients in London, Moscow, China, and Hong Kong. Sales for Ujoh are also expected to kick off in New York and Paris this season.

“I am honored to receive such a prestigious award. I am sincerely grateful to everyone who has supported day-to-day efforts at Ujoh. DHL's logistics assistance will help us immensely in our quest to achieve global expansion, in particular, to Europe and the U.S. I would like to take the opportunity offered by this award to step up Ujoh’s overseas expansion efforts.”

The DHL Designer Award includes an overseas shipping credit valued at 500,000 yen and practical assistance in helping the winner launch or expand his brands overseas. Previous winners include Yu Amatsu of A Degree Fahrenheit, Christian Dada and DRESSEDUNDRESSED.

As the Official Logistics Partner of the 2016 Spring/Summer Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Tokyo, DHL provided shipping and delivery services for events held at Shibuya Hikarie, Mercedes-Benz Connection, and other various locations around Tokyo from October 12 to October 18, 2015.

Taketo Yamakawa, President and Representative Director of DHL Japan said,

"This season marks the 9th DHL Designer Award. We are pleased to have supported the internationalization efforts of many young and promising Japanese designers through the award. As the market leader in international express services, DHL offers the world's largest global network combined with superior quality logistics services. We will continue our strong support for Japan's designers and fashion industry and their global expansion goals."

In addition to the DHL Designer Award, DHL has also been supporting the global fashion industry since 2014 through the DHL Exported program. A collaboration with IMG Fashion, the program aims to help talented designers expand their businesses internationally. The program sponsors runway debuts at impactful Fashion Week events held in New York, London, Milan and Tokyo. Of the four Cycle Two winners of DHL Exported Program announced in September, Marques Almeida – a brand that won at its Tokyo debut, will reveal their collection for the first time at the 2016-2017 Autumn/Winter Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Tokyo. Atsushi Nakashima is the first Japanese designer selected as a winner for Cycle Two. His collection will be showcased at Milan Fashion Week in February 2016.  

For more images from Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Tokyo and to keep up with the many designers we support at Fashion Week events around the world, be sure to follow us here on In Motion or on our social media channels.

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