WATARU TOMINAGA
Lookbook from previous seasons
Full Profile & Press 2015 – 2020
ABOUT THE BRAND
WATARU TOMINAGA is an eponymous Japanese fashion brand founded in 2019. With a large
emphasis on experimental prints, which incorporate hand drawn elements coupled with the visual
manipulations of printed textiles through hand-pleating, the designer longs to create garments that
are both transportive and referential of times past.
Born in 1988 in Kumamoto, Japan, Tominaga currently lives and works in Tokyo. With an interna-
tional outlook, Tominaga pursued his education in Japan, the UK, and Finland. He attended the
Musashino Art University and Bunka Fashion College, the University of Art and Design in Helsinki,
and Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, receiving a BA for Fashion Print. His global
education has enhanced the vastness of his design aesthetic. He has since worked with illustrious
design houses such as John Galliano, Eddie Peake, and BLESS. Additionally, he has earned a
MFA at the Chelsea College of Arts at the University of the Arts in London.
In 2016 Tominaga won the Grand Jury Première Vision Prize at the 31st International Festival of
Fashion and Photography in Hyères. He was the artist in residency at Le Pavillon Neuflize OBC at
Palais de Tokyo in Paris (2016-2017) while continuing to showcase his collections at Berlin Fas-
hion Week, and NY Premiere Vision. The year following, Tominaga again competed in Hyères
Fashion Competition and landed prestigious collaborations with mega-brands Chanel and Petit Ba-
teau. In 2018, Tominaga was included in Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia – The Arts 2018 list. In 2019, he
held a solo exhibition at Nonaka-Hill gallery in California. He has since launched his own com-
mercial line for the SS20 season, presenting his first RTW collection, which merged both fashion
and art, during Tokyo Fashion Week and Lagos Fashion Week in the Fall of 2019. Tominaga made
his Paris Fashion Week debut with his FW21 Collection, following the SS21 digital show at New
York Fashion