To celebrate design, sustainability, and fashion, Lexus put the 3.0 CFDA + Lexus  Fashion* Initiative designers on a plane to Tokyo and  the Lexus headquarters last month. Araks Yeramyan, Abdul Abasi, Sarah Leff, Jonathan Cohen, Alan Mak, Tracy Reese, and Rachel Espersen of Lexus spent a total of three days engaging with Takumi artisans and gaining inspiration from local culture and art museums, all while being provided with the ultimate hospitality experience by Lexus, from a fleet of cars to fine dining.

During their time there, the designers visited the INTERSECT BY LEXUS Tokyo space, the first flagship opened by Lexus – “a luxury space first and foremost for people to sit, reflect, create, debate and collaborate; where inspired people intersect with expressions of lifestyle, from design and architecture, to the food and entertainment, to technology and beyond,” as stated on the Lexus web site. Lexus recently opened the New York location in the Meatpacking District.

Lexus Global Head of Brand Management and Marketing Spiros Fotinos held a presentation for the designers, providing history on Lexus and shedding  light around the company’s goals around mentorship, business evolution, luxury, sustainability and craftsmanship – all of which are aligned with our program goals.

Day two included an Edo Kiriko glass-making workshop with Takumi Artisans.

“There’s an incredible attention to detail and respect for the process that truly characterizes the essence of Japanese culture and the way that mentality shapes their everyday life,” Abasi said.

“Tokyo holds deep significance and roots for Lexus, and we wanted the designers to experience craftsmanship and heritage through the various categories of design, fashion, and art to inspire their own journeys as they work to develop their brands into a more sustainable category,” Espersen  said. “We felt it was important to include a trip to Tokyo as a part of this year’s C/LF*I program in order to provide the designers with an opportunity to further enhance their learnings surrounding fashion sustainability in a new setting outside of New York and their design studios.”

Other highlights included a visit to the MORI Building DIGITAL ART MUSEUM: teamLab Borderless exhibition.

“The convergence of immersive environments, cutting-edge technology and new media provided a welcomed glimpse into the future,” said Abasi.

The CFDA + Lexus Fashion * Initiative just entered their second phase of the nine-month program with the finale scheduled for June 27, 2019 at INTERSECT BY LEXUS New York.They kicked off their NYU Stern Center for Sustainable Business MBA course in early February.