The "Flower Festival," starting on Wednesday, February 21st, will be held on every floor of Isetan Shinjuku Store, Men's Building , focusing on dress-up and street fashion that fulfills the playful spirit and desire for transformation of adults. The 5th floor, Business Clothing, will feature a "Back to Traditional" theme, offering blazers and printed shirts that have a traditional feel even in classic attire, along with other trendy styles that will lead this spring and summer.

This time, the fifth floor was envisioned as a "social gathering place for adults (i.e., a place to dress up)," with flower designer Shunsuke Sato directing the decorations. We asked Mr. Sato about his concept, which he described as, "The greatest charm of flowers is their ability to express the changing seasons and the passage of time. I am researching the moment when each flower looks its most beautiful."

Event Information

Flower Festival

□Starting Wednesday, February 21□ Isetan Shinjuku Store, Men's Building = Every floor

At Isetan Shinjuku Store, Men's Building 5th floor = Business Clothing, customers who download the 'ISETAN MEN'S net' app will receive an original flower gift designed by flower designer Shunsuke Sato. *Limited quantities available. Please note that this offer will end once supplies run out.

Flower designer. Received a special prize at the 2014 Monaco International Goodwill Exhibition domestic selection competition. In the same year, opened the flower arrangement salon "SATOSHUNSUKE FLOWER DESIGN" in Aoyama, Tokyo. Active in a wide range of fields, including department store display decorations and overseas arrangement shows. Recently, he has been focusing on Asian flower markets and culture. Official website: http://satoshunsuke.net

From a stylist at Mitsukoshi Ginza to the world of "flowers"

The cherry blossom branch in Shunsuke Sato's hand looks real, but in fact the branch is made from real wood, and the flowers, upon closer inspection, are artificial. "A combination of real and artificial flowers is called a 'semi-fresh arrangement,' and this one also uses a real cherry blossom branch with carefully crafted artificial flowers. At first glance it looks like an optical illusion, but it has many advantages, such as being lighter than a real branch, lasting longer because it's made of artificial flowers, not being limited in terms of where it can be displayed, being easy to maintain, and being able to get a head start on the season as a decoration," he explains.

Ms. Sato joined Mitsukoshi Co., Ltd. (now Mitsukoshi Isetan) and worked as a stylist for about five years on the men's clothing floor of the Mitsukoshi Ginza store. "One of my customers always bought flowers as a gift when he came to the store. He was very stylish, and I thought it was amazing that he could buy and give flowers so smartly. I wondered what it was about 'flowers' that had the power to excite people, so I left Mitsukoshi and jumped into the world of flowers," she says, explaining what led her to her current job.

While training at a flower shop, he obtained a national qualification in flower arrangement and began his career as a designer, starting with decorating stores and hotels in various industries and business types. After winning an award, he became independent and opened his flower arrangement salon, "SATOSHUNSUKE FLOWER DESIGN," in Aoyama, Tokyo in 2014.

"The world of flowers is clearly divided into fresh flowers and artificial flowers, but because of my background, I have been able to incorporate the best aspects of both without being influenced by industry norms. I have named this approach 'semi-fresh arrangement' and have been practicing it for about two years now," he continues.

NEXT>Two weeks of flower festivals: Enjoy flower arrangements with all five senses