Models present creations by designer Tokuko Maeda during Tokyo Fashion Week in Tokyo last week. [Photo/IC]

Tokyo Fashion Week kicked off its spring/summer 2017 season showcase earlier this month with six days of events intended to promote 50 brands, a mixture of the established and the new.

Yet Japanese labels that are household names in the West-led by Kenzo, YohjiYamamoto, Issey Miyake and Comme des Garcons－eschew home shores for the bright lights, prestige and visibility of Paris.

Tokyo Fashion Week attracts only 50,000 visitors just a quarter of the number that attend the New York event, and also lagging behind London, Paris and Milan.