The Japanese love affair with fast fashion
Fast is a word I never imagined I would associate with fashion, but here I am writing about just that — Fast Fashion. Described as “trends designed and manufactured quickly and cheaply to allow mainstream consumers to take advantage of the current clothing styles at lower prices,” fast fashion has become a fashion byword that luxury retailers have grown to “dislike” and consumers have come to love. Although there is no clear indication of how long fast fashion will reap the benefits of its savvy marketing and forward-thinking business model, for now it is a trend that has got the fashion world abuzz, in more ways than one.
Cheap, fashionable alternatives have always had a place in the lucrative fashion market, but it wasn’t until the middle of the 21st century, at the height of the boho-chic look, that the term “fast fashion” caught on, with everyone seen wearing the look straight off the runway. That was the turning point for fast fashion; the companies behind the successful fast-fashion brands realized then that if they could turn out the looks on the runway quick enough and bring them to the stores at ultra low prices ahead of the more established brands, they had a winning formula on their hands. A decade later, they are still churning out the goods and the consumers are still buying them up like candy in a candy store.
The Right Thing at the Right Time
Japan remains the second largest luxury goods market in the world after the US, but the economic downturn in recent years and the shift in demographics have changed the attitude of the Japanese towards fashion. Where Japanese women dressed in luxury brands from head to toe in the ’80s and the ’90s, they have now taken to experimenting, mixing and matching expensive labels with affordable ones. The consumer makeup has also changed; whereas only the more mature women shopped and spent money on clothes back then, the youth have become an influential and large market of fashion in Japan. In the latter part of 19th century, Japanese women dressed conservatively except for a fringe group of “younger” Japanese who would parade their choice of fashion and music on Sunday afternoons in Harajuku to freely express themselves. The road beside Meiji Shrine would be closed, groups of young men and women would converge dressed in their whimsical attire, and dance and sing to their hearts’ desire, to the entertainment of confused-looking Japanese and amused-looking foreigners. These Sundays became an attraction of sorts and had a large cult following but after many years was discontinued by the local government. But instead of retreating, the young Japanese found the courage and confidence to express themselves in public daily and no longer felt they had to dress up only on Sundays; they took their fashion to the everyday streets of Japan. If you walk along Omotesando, Harajuku, Shibuya, Ginza, and many other places in Tokyo and perhaps other parts of Japan, you will discover a truly fashionable people where fashion is no longer exclusive to the upper crust of society; it is no longer just about dressing up but about making a personal statement, too.
Certain luxury brands continue to be successful in Japan by competing not in fashion but in brand story, craftsmanship, and heritage, but the aggressive marketing and advertising campaign employed by the fast- fashion brands and their immediate delivery of trends to consumers have clearly changed the fashion landscape in Japan. Judging by the number of fast fashion stores opening in Japan, the trend may actually become the norm.
Cheap But Chic Fashion
Japanese women have become practical in their fashion taste — they realize that fashion is seasonal so they don’t feel the need to invest too much in it. Zara, the first official fast-fashion label to penetrate the Japanese market, saw this shift and opened their first store in Tokyo in 1998. The Spanish brand went from 23 stores to its current 50 in three years, signaling their continued optimism in the Japanese market. They recently opened their glitziest and flashiest flagship outlet yet in Shibuya in November 2009. I first discovered Zara in Tokyo and was instantly won over by their designs and prices. Accustomed to seeing only high-price tags and clothes that were too small for me, Zara became a welcome addition to my wardrobe and my budget. And although I find some great deals in Zara Manila, I personally like going to the Zara stores in Tokyo because I constantly find good buys and styles that are not available here.
Not to be outsold and undercut in a very lucrative market, H&M followed suit and opened their first flagship store in the autumn of 2008. When news of the store opening in Ginza first broke out, Japanese women marked their calendars and thousands of them fell in line the day before the opening and kept vigil until the doors were opened to the public. “Japan is a very strategic and exciting market with great fashion awareness and we hope that we can offer our Tokyo customers added value through fashion and quality at the best price,” Hennes and Mauritz (H&M) CEO Rolf Eriksen said at the launch. Their philosophy worked and the Japanese continue to flock to their stores for the Y299 (US$2.80) chandelier earrings, Y5,490 (US$51) high heels and Y3,990 (US$37) colorful dresses and clever separates, created in collaboration with luxury designers like Roberto Cavalli, Matthew Williamson, Karl Lagerfeld, and Rei Kawakubo of Comme Des Garcons, among others. Their latest line of bags and shoes designed by Jimmy Choo flew off the shelves within minutes! Christine Edman, country manager of H&M in Japan, describes their brand as “the democratization of fashion,” a fashion brand for everyone. To date, H&M has seven outlets in Japan, with the latest going up in Osaka’s Shinsaibashi district. I was in Tokyo the day they opened their second store in Harajuku on Meiji Dori (Avenue) and I kid you not, there was a mob of people waiting to get into the store; security was deployed guiding customers along the cordoned area, megaphone-toting store personnel were making nonstop announcements about how to form lines and informing people of how long the wait would be to get into the store. I went back every day for several days and was greeted by the same scene so I gave up. I have yet to buy anything from H&M because seriously, I just can’t be bothered to wait more than 30 minutes (if you’re lucky!) to fit. I was there just last week and although there are no more lines of clients anxious to get into the store, I was still met with the same “pee in your pants” waiting challenge to try on the clothes.
Since it is cool to be cheap, Forever 21 took heed and joined the bandwagon of fast-fashion retailers ready and willing to satiate the Japanese market, especially the young Japanese. The American mall-style clothing based in Los Angeles opened in the spring of 2009 in Harajuku, right beside H&M with a mile-long line of giddy customers. Their take on the street-style wear has become a hit with the young Japanese who go for kawaii or cute styles. My daughter Riana, who traveled to Tokyo late last year to visit her dad, found several tops which were well made and perfect for her fashion taste. I have managed to get one top after several visits to the store, but I bet if I took the time to browse through the racks of clothes and again bear the wait to fit, I would probably find some items I could enjoy wearing. Forever 21, like Zara and H&M, has got something for every woman of every age so it is common to see a baby car-pushing mom mingling with young single women, groups of teenagers milling about among girls with boyfriends on their arms, and adolescents chaperoned by their mothers.
A year later, Forever 21 opened a second store in Ginza to cater to an older but young-at-heart crowd, which includes a children’s section. In a move symbolic of the shift towards bargain hunting, Forever 21 took over the space of Gucci in the Matsuzakaya Department Store. Occupying five floors, the store is filled with racks upon racks of colorful tank tops at Y350 (US$4) and frilly skirts at Y1,580 (US$17). Fusako Suzuki, a 33-year-old pharmacist, was delighted to find good bargains in a department store. “I used to go to expensive brands like Burberry when I was single but not anymore, now that I’m married,” she said in an interview. She came away with a purchase of Y10,000 (US$100) for eight items, including some dresses, a definite bargain in Japan. Forever 21 chief executive Don Chang, who was seen smiling at the Ginza opening, is bullish and plans to open at least 10 stores a year until they come up with a total of 100 stores in Japan. Next up on their agenda, a Forever 21 outlet in the former In Your Room wing of Marui Department Store in Shinjuku and another one in Lalaport at Funabashi, both in Tokyo.
Fashion Mecca
Ginza, a famous fashion mecca for luxury goods, still boasts European brands like Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Giorgio Armani, Prada, Pucci, and Hermes, but its landscape has changed these past few years with the entry of H&M, Zara, Forever 21, and Uniqlo, the Japanese local fast fashion brand. Uniqlo, short for unique clothing, is the brainchild of Tadashi Yanai, rumored to be the richest man in Japan. The company was founded in 1949 as a men’s clothing store in Yamaguchi prefecture (province). In 1994, the company changed its name to Fast Retailing and after several years working on design, concept, and approach, they opened their first urban store called Uniqlo in Harajuku in 1998. They have since opened 702 more stores all over Japan, including one in Ginza where Brooks Brothers used to be. In April 2007, Fast Retailing expanded their brand to include a T-shirt concept store called UT Project; the stores feature graphic art by world-famous designers and manga illustrations by Japanese creators sold in funky plastic tennis ball canisters. Uniqlo has also worked with designers like Jil Sander and Philip Lim to give the brand a more international flavor. Their latest endeavor with Costello Tagliapietra, an Italian designer, looks very modern and current, a departure from their more utilitarian and streamlined look.
What now?
Clearly, luxury retailers no longer have the monopoly on exciting and innovative experiences in fashion and with attitudes changing, the playing field has evened out. At Forever 21, customers have reason to keep coming back since they update their stock every day. Uniqlo sells because being a Japanese company, it carries a high premium synonymous with excellent quality. H&M keeps the level of excitement going at a steady pace with their ingenious collaborations with exclusive, high-end designers whose products under normal circumstances would be beyond the buying capacity of a regular Japanese consumer. Zara turns out well-crafted products that have a chic and fashionable look, young yet not too frivolous and current but not too trendy. Although all of these companies are mum about their earnings in Japan, their expansion plans say it all. But the question remains whether they will be able to sustain their seemingly endless successful run in Japan. Perhaps the other, more interesting conundrum is where do all these leave the luxury retail brands? Will they close shop like Gianni Versace and Valentino did last year or will they reevaluate their reason for being called luxury in the first place? I say enough commercialization of the luxury brands and get back to the essence of the business of exclusivity, exquisite craftsmanship, and unparalleled luxury.
