Tanaka, the New York-based unisex label founded by Japanese designer Sayori Tanaka, has been named the ninth recipient of the Fashion Prize of Tokyo, a program led by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the Japan Fashion Week Organization.

The award marks a new step in the brand’s international plans. Under the program, Tanaka is scheduled to stage showcase events in Paris in January and June 2027, as well as an event during Rakuten Fashion Week Tokyo in March 2027.

Founded in New York in 2017, Tanaka has built its identity around clothing designed to link "the past with the future", while moving beyond traditional ideas of time and gender. Akira Kuboshita, the brand’s creative director and partner, formally joined the label in 2020.

The Fashion Prize of Tokyo selected the label after evaluating participating brands on several criteria, including their potential to become internationally recognized brands representing Tokyo, their ability to raise brand awareness through design, product range and pricing, and their willingness and organizational capacity to present overseas.

Sayori Tanaka’s career includes roles in high fashion, knitwear and global mass-market design. After graduating from the Apparel Fashion Design Department at Tokyo Mode Gakuen, she began at Yohji Yamamoto, where she worked across the creative team as well as knitwear and cut-and-sew design. She later joined Fast Retailing, serving as a leader of the women’s global design team, before moving to the United States in 2013 and launching Tanaka in New York four years later.

Kuboshita also previously worked at Fast Retailing and Uniqlo. There, he led the men’s global design team and worked mainly across UT, activewear and knitwear, while also contributing to creative and planning projects in Japan and overseas.

The recognition is intended to support Tanaka’s next stage of international expansion.

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