Ayumi Shibata wins WWDMAGIC contest with Los Angeles label

Los Angeles - Since 2013, WWDMAGIC has hosted a Crème de la Crème contest every summer where select designers participant for a change to meet with representatives and buyers for Galeries Lafayette. This year’s winner, chosen for her unique and boho-chic styles, was Japanese designer Ayumi Shibata.

The contest invites designers from all over to participate in the Crème de la Crème event by sending in their designs and image to the retail department store. The idea is for participants to boost their career and further launch themselves into the design and fashion industry. The winner, Ayumi Shibata, was selected by WWDMAGIC due to her elaborate styles with her own Los Angeles label entitled “/ èis / Los Angeles.” The contest allows for winners to meet up with buyers and representatives from the high-end store so that they can receive feedback on their contest entrees. In the past, previous winners have met with buyers from the department store. So far, none of the previous winners have sold their designs to the department store chain, Apparel News reported.

As a winner of the contest, Shibata will have the opportunity to meet with buyers of the luxury Paris department store. In addition, she will have an trip with all expenses paid to Paris in order to go to the department store involved with the contest. Her trip is scheduled for mid-October, where Shibata is secured a lunch with Galeries Lafayette’s international marketing manager, Edouard de Bailliencourt.

At WWDMagic, Shibata participated at the trade show’s Emerging Designers section with / èis / Los Angeles. The fashion show displayed various looks including oversized outfits, loose contemporary dresses, and cocoon capes. Her style is reminiscent of edgy, daring clothing with a retro-vintage vibe. Overall, her label reflects a bohemian, classy style. Pieces range from around 30 to 280 dollars. The Japan-born designer graduated from Bunka College in Tokyo. Since then, the designer has collaborated with luxury labels and Japanese fashion houses. Her label was launched last year, with influences by European style and the laid-back lifestyle of Los Angeles. The label encompasses ready-to-wear pieces including capes, tops, shawls, dresses, kimonos, and cover-ups.