The final judging session for "Fashion Koshien 2024 (23rd National High School Fashion Design Championship)" was held on August 25th at the Hirosaki Civic Cultural Center (1 Kamishirogin-cho, Hirosaki City).

This is a fashion design competition for high school students nationwide that began in 2001. This year, 1,929 works were submitted by 1,147 teams from 95 schools in 34 prefectures, and 34 works from 20 prefectures were selected in the first round of judging to advance to the final round.

The final judging session was held in the form of a fashion show, with four judges judging. A total of nine awards were selected, including a special award chosen by the president of the Overseas Fashion Brand Association and an award voted for by the teachers in charge of the participating teams.

The winners were Himeka Haruna, a designer at Osaka Prefectural Izuo Technical High School, and model Kirara Fujita, who created "Earth (The Birth of Life)". The two, who also participated in Fashion Koshien last year, took their frustration at not winning and took on the challenge again this year. Haruna smiled and said, "I thought it would be impossible this year too until my name was called, but I almost cried when I won."

Three teams from two schools participated from Aomori Prefecture, and "PAPER LESS" by Kotomi Hikawa, designer at Hirosaki Commercial High School, and model Mizuki Joseph Sarah was selected as the judges' special prize winner. The clothes were made from receipts, letters, and other paper, and conveyed a message about the necessity of paper and the benefits of the material being reusable.

In her overall comments at the awards ceremony, judge and fashion director Yumiko Hara said, "The level is getting higher every year, and it was difficult to give a score considering the attention to materials and careful handiwork of each piece." Fellow Senken Shimbun reporter Noriko Aoki commented, "All the pieces were unique and evoked a new sense of beauty."