KYOTO SEASON

Long known for its traditional festivals, the Japanese city is now becoming a fashion destination.

- Todd Plummer

Each spring in Kyoto, more than 500 people in traditional dress process through the streets for Aoi Matsuri, a festival with roots dating back to the 6th century. Some 1,500 years since it began, Aoi Matsuri remains one of Kyoto’s most beloved annual events—and it’s just one of many festivals held in the city throughout the year. For Gion Matsuri, which lasts for the entire month of July, locals are encouraged to wear summer-weight yukata kimonos to indulge in beer and street food and watch large-scale parades of colorful floats. Unlike the bustling, sometimes-claustrophobic streets of Tokyo, the world’s largest city, Kyoto exudes a sense of serenity, a calmness that gives even greater meaning to these special events.

Peel back the city’s traditional exterior, and you'll find modernity as well: a train station like something out of Blade Runner, filled with immersive digital installations; a thriving contemporary art gallery scene; and, increasingly, a synergy of old and new that inspires creatives and global brands. Chanel presented its latest haute joaillerie collection, “Reach for the Stars,” there on June 2. And Dior staged an elaborate prefall 2025 show in April in the garden of Tō-ji Temple. The lavish affair was inspired in part by creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri's visit to Kyoto last fall. Her collection drew upon images of 15thand 16th-century Japanese designs, and she worked with the traditional Japanese fabric company Tatsumura Textile Co.