3WAVES BLOG

Thursday June 17th, 2010 | Posted in Fashion, Uncategorized | 4 Comments

3Waves Japan is very pleased to announce that it has been invited to present at the Global Fashion Industry Panel Discussion sponsored by the Harvard Club of Japan and Meiji University Graduate School of Global Business on Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010.

Jeffrey Brouse, Research Director at 3Waves will accompany Francesco Formiconi (COO of Giorgio Armani Japan) and Akiko Shinoda (Director of International Affairs, Japan Fashion Week Organization) in a presentation and Q&A about the global fashion industry and its influence on Japan.  3Waves plans to present on trends affecting the ever-changing landscape of youth fashion in Japan.

To view a link to the event please click here.

Sunday March 21st, 2010 | Posted in Fashion | 50 Comments

As winter has started to let up and spring is showing its first signs of life, we decided to head out to the Daikanyama area and see what’s happening in one of Tokyo’s trendiest neighborhoods.  By day, Daikanyama is the place to see Japan’s up-and-coming fashion boutiques and what young Japanese people are really thinking about for tomorrow’s newest look.  Arguably Tokyo’s hippest area, some of the country’s hottest domestic fashion designers call this little place home.  Foreign brands have also taken notice of the relevance that Daikanyama plays and labels like Tommy Hilfiger, Paul Smith and R. Newbold have popped up to make this one of the most eclectic shopping experiences around.  When the sun goes down, Daikanyama transforms itself into a buzzing center for nightlife as two of Tokyo’s biggest clubs, Air and Unit, are based here.  Tucked away in the sidestreets are a multitude of other lounges, bars and clubs that kick out some of the city’s hottest beats and rhythms.  Peaceful by day and pulsating at night, Daikanyama has become the crossroads for all things new on the Tokyo scene.

Saturday February 13th, 2010 | Posted in Fashion | No Comments

 

Tokyo is well-known for being a global mecca for outlandish fashion.  The same can also be said for some of Japan’s most established department store chains like Marui and Parco which cater to Japanese youth with a multitude of fashions for incredibly discerning buyers.   We at 3Waves always like to keep one eye on the street as Japanese youth are the most influential purchasers and trendsetters here.  The above is a short excerpt from the documentary ‘Tokyology’ showing just how mind-boggling 10-floor department stores (‘depa-to’) can seem to the foreign eye.

Monday January 4th, 2010 | Posted in Fashion | 1 Comment

                                   

     After a more than 25-year store presence in Japan, Versace has decided to close its doors here citing flagging sales, the global recession and the need to rethink its global strategy as reasons.  Meanwhile discount clothier Uniqlo posted a 23% increase in quartely profit, catapulting CEO Tadashi Yanai into the top spot as Japan’s welathiest individual.
     It’s no secret that Japan’s luxury industry has been in decline for over a decade. The financial crisis has only added to the decrease in profits for even the most successful luxury brands. Louis Vuitton recently announced it would scrap plans to build a 12-story flagship store in Tokyo’s upscale Ginza shopping district. The luxury brands market in Japan (still the world’s largest) peaked in 1996 at 1.9 trillion yen and looks to shrink to 992 billion yen by year’s end, according to Yano Research Institute. Read the rest of this entry

Friday January 1st, 2010 | Posted in Fashion | No Comments

These are trying times for retail brands across the board, but this winter the casual fashion scene looks to get a boost in Japan as Abercrombie & Fitch gets its first flagship store in Tokyo’s upscale Ginza district.  While Abercrombie has scaled back in other areas this year, so strong is its belief in the Tokyo opening that it has remained committed to the Winter 2009 launch.  With good reason too – despite not having a single outlet in Japan, A&F’s strong, sexually-charged imagery resonates well with Japanese youth.  The classic American-styling, a strong association with youth and perfection and relatively high quality helps the brand market itself as ’casual luxury’.  Expect significant price markups at the Tokyo flagship store where Japanese often expect to pay more for fashion brands based upon their perceived image.  Above the discount range and below luxury status, A&F seems well-positioned to make a strong impact on the Japanese fashion scene in 2010.

Friday January 1st, 2010 | Posted in Fashion, Mobile Phones | 2 Comments

The green wave continues to roll across the world and there has never been a cooler time to be environmentally friendly. I guess it is no surprise then that many brands are tapping into the eco-friendly trend and incorporating it into many of their designs – from eco-friendly fashion to eco-friendly mobile phones. Just recently Olympus and Sharp released a pair of wood-encased mobile phones made from trees cut from ecologically sustainable forests. The name of the mobile phone is “Touch Wood” and is part of the “More Trees” campaign established by prominent musician Ryuichi Sakamoto, an organisation which seeks to plant more trees in Japan.

Another trend ostensibly inspired by environmental sustainability is the Mori Girl (Forest Girl) fashion. ‘Mori girl’ is a buzzword taken from the name of a community within the Japanese social networking site Mixi, a community which takes its inspiration for fashion from the concept of life in the forest. They are a rapidly growing community which prides itself on a whole-hearted rejection of fashion trends dictated by the mass media and look for originality and individuality within their own fashion selections. They charaterize their fashion as being sweet and simple and most importantly original, driven by their very own individual tastes.

Some other environmentally-friendly inspired products recently launched:

- the wooden USB stick
- the wooden key board

One wonders what could possibly be next in this series of wooden products – the wooden fridge maybe?