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Smile Down the Runway Exhibit Shows Off the Anime's Real-Life Brands
posted on by Kim Morrissy
The "Smile Down the Runway Exhibit: Collection2020" exhibit at the Bookmark Asakusabashi store in Tokyo is running from February 8 to 24. The small-scale exhibit shows off art, storyboards, and design materials from the fashion-themed manga and anime series, as well as the anime's collaborations with real-life textile and fashion brands.
A model of a Brother Industries sewing machine is shown in one corner of the exhibit. The sewing machines appear in the anime itself. The area also shows hand-sewn images of series protagonists Chiyuki Fujito and Ikuto Tsumura, as well as a work of flower embroidery created by Chiyuki voice actress Yumiri Hanamori.
Another wall shows off anime's collaboration artwork with various fashion brands, including Anna Sui, earth music&ecology, and koé.
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A wall at the exhibit shows artwork left by creators whose work was previously exhibited at the venue, including Mushi-Shi and Hozuki's Coolheadedness.
The nearby Plus Secret café is also selling drinks inspired by Smile Down the Runway, such as a melon cream float in Chiyuki's image and orange lychee tea in Ikuto's image. (More details about the menu on the café website.) Both drinks were delicious and also affordable as far as anime collaboration drinks go, costing 600 yen (approximately US$5.50) each. Buying drinks also earns you a free bromide.
The Smile Down the Runway manga launched in Weekly Shōnen Magazine in May 2017 as Kotoba Inoya's debut work. Kodansha Comics publishes the manga digitally in the USA, and it describes the story:
Chiyuki Fujito has a dream: to become a Paris Collection model. The problem is, she's too short to be a model, and everyone around her tells her so! But no matter what they say, she won't give up. Her classmate, a poor student named Ikuto Tsumura, also has a dream: to become a fashion designer. One day Chiyuki tells him that it's “probably impossible” for him, causing him to consider giving it up … ?! This is the story of two individuals wholeheartedly chasing after their dreams in spite of all the negativity that comes after them!
The anime premiered in Japan on January 10.
