Japan news and archive

Guess Jeans partners with Hysteric Glamour for SS26 capsule collection

Guess Jeans has partnered with cult Japanese label Hysteric Glamour to create a special Spring/Summer 2026 collection that connects California surf & skate nostalgia with Tokyo’s counterculture appeal. Set to launch April 3, the collaborative collection is inspired by both brands’ legacies, reimagining archival designs and classic silhouettes...

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Fashion |Interview

Takashimaya: Japanese buyer on menswear trends, Berlin favourites and domestic customers

The autumn/winter 26 menswear shows concluded a few weeks ago, allowing time for reflection and review. Shuhei Iwasa, menswear buyer for the Japanese department store chain Takashimaya, has done just that. At the retailer, he is responsible for “CS Case Study”, a concept that involves curated fashion spaces in Takashimaya locations across Osaka,...

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Business

Timely and timeless: Experience new and old mid-range brands and learn about Japanese fashion culture

Japan's mid-market brands offer a compelling alternative in today's fashion landscape, which is dominated by mass production, overconsumption and the display of status on social media. These brands embody a philosophy of high quality, understated style and contemporary relevance. Mid-market brands were once central to the Japanese apparel...

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Fashion

Japan's luxury market remains resilient despite weak yen, falling wages and rising prices

Japan's general fashion and textile market began declining in the 1990s and contracted further during the Covid-19 pandemic. Although a gradual recovery has been observed in recent years, the market has yet to return to pre-pandemic levels. The domestic luxury market, however, has shown significant growth over the past five years despite the...

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Business

Cheap clothing imports, high-quality material exports: figures reveal Japan's fashion industry

In recent years, Japan's apparel market has consistently fallen short of the nine trillion yen level seen before Covid-19. One reason for this phenomenon is the labour shortage in the textile industry. The average annual income in the textile sector is 5.81 million yen, which exceeds the wider industry average. However, textile wages remain more...

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Fashion

Five Japanese fashion and textile organisations to know

The Japanese fashion industry is built on a multilayered connection of diverse areas, including material development, apparel production, cultural dissemination and environmental response. In this “material exporting country”, where textile export values exceed those of apparel products, the importance of overseas communication is increasing...

Schools

A goal-oriented guide to the Japanese fashion education landscape

Japan is home to many fashion vocational schools and universities, each with different strengths, characteristics, and paths toward becoming a professional. To answer questions such as “Why is this school chosen?” and “What kind of professional can I become?”, this article introduces fashion schools in Japan by category, focusing on aspects such...

Retail|In Pictures

Zara opens flagship in Osaka with Japan's first Zacaffè

Madrid – Zara, the leading fashion chain of the Inditex group, is looking to Asia and strengthening its presence in Japan with the opening of a new flagship store in Osaka. The establishment is filled with nods to local culture. A key feature is the inclusion of the first Zacaffè coffee shop that the chain has launched in the country. Located in...

Retail

Japanese convenience store chain Family Mart opens first clothing store in Tokyo

Japanese supermarket chain Family Mart, which also offers clothing, operates over 15,000 stores nationwide. On September 1, 2025, it opened its first store dedicated exclusively to its ‘Convenience Wear’ segment, spanning 62 square metres. The line was developed in 2016 with designer Hiromichi Ochiai, who also founded the Japanese brand...

Retail

Ecoalf strengthens its international business with new store in Japan

Madrid – Ecoalf, the Spanish fashion brand founded and led by Javier Goyeneche, has been at the forefront of sustainable fashion since its launch in 2012. It is expanding its retail network with the opening of a new flagship store in Japan. This country stands out as one of its key markets, and following this opening, Ecoalf now has five stores...

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Fashion

20 years on: A brief history of Tokyo’s fashion week

As the 20th edition of Tokyo Fashion Week begins to wrap up, it seems an apt time to look back on the evolution of Japan’s leading fashion event and how it has been reshaped over its lifespan. This season, under the theme ‘Be The Seam That Connects The World - JFW 20 + 20’, the fashion week wished not only to pay tribute to its 20-year history,...

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Retail|In Pictures

Calvin Klein to open largest lifestyle store in Tokyo

American designer brand Calvin Klein Inc., a subsidiary of PVH Corp., is continuing its global retail expansion with the opening of its largest lifestyle store in Tokyo, Japan, designed in a one-of-a-kind concept. The new global flagship store, opening on August 29, is located at 4-31-10, Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, in the heart of Harajuku, Tokyo....