In the design course of Bunka Fashion College, I was known as a "contest vandal," because I regularly won contests for younger fashion designers. I could make some extra money, too, since the contests offered prizes.
The most prestigious of these was the Soen Award, which was created to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Soen Magazine (published by Bunka Publishing Bureau). Junko Koshino and Kenzo Takada were previous winners of the award, which was considered a gateway to success for new fashion designers.
