Japan news and archive

Uniformly panned: Japan Armani school kit sparks storm

A Japanese school's plan to introduce Armani-branded uniforms for its students, at a cost of nearly $750 a pop, has sparked complaints and fierce debate, even reaching as far as parliament. The local education board confirmed to AFP that the Taimei Elementary School in Tokyo's flashy Ginza district will adopt the designer uniforms from April,...

Report

What is the situation of Japanese consumers’ digital engagement today?

PODCAST - In this monthly Fashion Friday podcast series by Euromonitor International, we will have a closer look at the Emergence of Curation and Subscription Services in Japan. What is the situation of Japanese consumers’ digital engagement today? In 2016, fewer than half of all Japanese consumers actively researched potential purchases using...

Fashion Featured

Exploring Japan's influence on global fashion

Japan’s bountiful visual culture has long been a place to take inspiration from. The futuristic yet traditional culture has become a fascination among western communities, translating into our creative industries, particularly fashion. Described as “another planet” by trend watcher, Ronny de Vylder, the Japanese believe in everything they do,...

RetailFeatured

Luxury spenders defy Japan's tight-fisted reputation

Tight-fisted shoppers, unsteady economic growth and a shrinking population: Japan doesn't exactly fit the image of a spending powerhouse these days. But you would never know it in Ginza -- Tokyo's answer to the Champs-Elysees or Fifth Avenue -- where a new 13-storey upscale mall is proving that Japan is still a whale in the luxury business. The...

Business

Japan's ecommerce market steadily grows

The online retail market of Japan has gradually increased. Recently, the Ecommerce Foundation released a new B2C Ecommerce Country Report on the state of e-commerce in Japan and what’s changed over time. The report, which recently went live, shows the steady increase of Japan’s e-commerce shoppers. The report (powered by Ingenico, Asendia,...

Fashion |INTERVIEW Featured

Top models stay in tune with a changing Japan

In ultra-conservative Japan, where change often happens at a snail's pace, top catwalk model Melody Yoko Reilly believes fashion has a role to play in shifting society's attitude to race and identity. The 27-year-old, who was born in California's Redondo Beach to a Japanese mother and an American father, told AFP that mixed-race models have...

Fashion Featured

Japan's apparel industry in hi-tech bid to secure future

From ready-to-wear knits manufactured instantly to customised dresses produced on inkjet printers, Japan's apparel industry is turning to state-of-the-art technology in a bold bid to cut labour costs and secure its future. At manufacturing giant Shima Seiki's factory in western Japan, garments materialise in minutes, thanks to...

News|BACKGROUND Featured

How Japan's first dressmaking school changed women's lives

Born out of a drive to make Western-style clothing accessible, Tokyo's Bunka Fashion College unleashed a sartorial and social revolution among Japanese women after it opened nearly a century ago. And while its current 21-storey concrete structure in the heart of Tokyo's business district doesn't scream high-fashion, it is the place to be for...

Fashion Featured

Japan's love for classic Americana sparks fashion boom

A 47-year-old Iowa-raised designer might seem like an unlikely candidate for overnight success in Japan, but the country's long-running love affair with classic American style has turned Todd Snyder into a fashion heavyweight. Japan's fondness for American fashion has seen Snyder open three stores in the country in less than two years, and...

Fashion Featured

Tokyo men stay one step ahead in style during TFW

Feminine glamour may turn the most heads at fashion weeks in New York or Paris, but in Tokyo it is the style-conscious men who set the sartorial trends. From sharp futurism to wool-and-denim casuals, the finale of Tokyo Fashion Week put the spotlight largely on menswear, aiming to promote the most dynamic area of Japanese clothes design. "What...

RetailFeatured

Topshop said to have shuttered all Japanese stores

It seems as if British high street retailer Topshop may not be big in Japan after all. The fashion chain has reportedly closed all five of its stores in Japan, with local store operators claiming that the store's future within the country remains unclear. According to a report from Nikkei Asian Review, Topshop shut down both flagship stores in...

Fashion

Japanese market still lucrative for luxury brands

The Japanese market has been very lucrative to British and international luxury brands, and after several seasons of stagnating sales, is finally picking up again. Just twelve months ago, the giants of the fashion and luxury sector presumed the Japanese market had reached its peak, after the tsunami, explosion and a troubled economy. Things have...