Robe at Tokyo Girls Collection Fashion Show

Japan's latest autumn/winter Tokyo Girls Collection (TGC) fashion show at the Saitama Super Arena in Tokyo featured lighting designed by Masaaki Aiba and lighting coordinator Yoichi Ashikawa, using 90 Robe moving lights supplied by Tokyo-based rental company M Tech Style.

The twice-yearly TGC event has grown to epic proportions since its beginnings in 2005 -- "bringing Japan's 'real clothes' to the world" -- and is a big hit on the fashion calendar, showcasing street wear by domestic designers. This year over 30,000 people enjoyed the five-hour live stage show, where the designer collections were interspersed with bands, music and other entertainment.

Yoichi Ashikawa, of M Tech Style, has worked on many previous shows and projects using Robe and for several years the brand has been a favorite, having proved "robust, reliable, well engineered as well as bright and dynamic." Robe lights are also particularly suitable for the long operating hours involved in the TGC show and its preceding rehearsal days he confirms.

The latest TGC show was particularly challenging to light from many different aspects. Not least because of Japan's current situation with power, which is in short supply following the meltdown of three out of the six reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant after the devastating earthquake and tsunami in March. All companies and events in the Tokyo area have been required to reduce their power consumption by 15 percent throughout the summer.

M Tech Style has worked on lighting TGC from the start, and has since it has steadily grown into the high tech global fashion phenomenon it is today.

The Robe moving lights -- a mix of Robe ColorSpot 700E ATs, ROBIN 600E Spots and REDWash 3-192s, were hung on trusses flown above the runway and to the front and back of that area. The idea was to provide the usual standard light levels - the show was lit in daylight -- for the throngs of photographers and film crews in addition to creating some live style drama, glamour and special effects.

The lighting was programmed and operated by Aiba using a Maxxys console, and the lower power requirement of these Robe fixtures also helped in drawing less electricity.

Robe's next generation of moving lights -- specifically the new ROBIN series -- are all designed and being developed to be "smaller-brighter-lighter" and generally more energy-conscious as part of Robe's wider commitment to producing more genuinely sustainable products