Interview with Dr. Satoshi Onuma

I think we will see the size of fast fashion market will shrink in the coming years. As a result, it will become increasingly important for our graduates to understand the importance of sustainability. Similarly, they will need to focus on understanding the sense of beauty through domestic heritage and culture. It will also be important for the future leaders of fashion industry that not only to develop advanced specialized knowledge, technical skills or creativity but also to enhance other skills such as a global outlook, interdisciplinary thinking, communication skills, versatility, and critical thinking.

Employment opportunities will continue to change. For instance, I predict that production jobs will eventually return to Japan in the future. Furthermore, as long as Japan can continue to adapt to changing needs of the apparel industry employment opportunities will exist. Besides, rapid changes that apparel industry has experienced in the recent past have emphasized the need for educational institutions to change as industry changes.