Sick Otaku

“The US$84 billion Japanese apparel sector has faced declines of 10% ever since it bottomed out in 1998 due to the onslaught of cheap Chinese imports,” says Dario Murata, an analyst at Credit Suisse First Boston. “But a major portion of the market is growing, and that is teenage fashion.”

The joshikosei or teenage girl fashion market is indeed thriving. Style conscious ‘bubble nourished’ mothers, who are more than happy to develop and then satiate the desires of style conscious daughters, drive it.

The on-going trend to have smaller families is another major factor pushing industry growth, as children’s access to wallets increases. An only child can often receive pocket money from six adults - parents and two sets of grandparents, with girls more likely to spend on fashion than boys.

Put these demographic factors together with the recent rise of teenage cover girls such as hitomi, following on from the mid-nineties teen-pop craze led by idol Namie Amuro and girl bands such as Speed or Morning Musume, and voila, a star is born in the apparel firmament - the teen fashion industry.

Narumiya International is one company exclusively targeting the sector with various lines such as Angel Blue and Daisy Lovers to appeal to fashion aware teens.

“Actually our clothes are not cheap, compared with, say, Uniqlo - they are not our competitor in this market - although everything we design is also produced in China. What we are doing is creating detailed styles specifically to develop brands that have their own cache,” declares Hisataka Suzuki, chief of planning and management.

“This market is just starting to take off and it is different to the adult market in that it is not driven by fashion seasons. We don’t manufacture in huge volumes and our clothes are designed to have a high quality hand-made appeal, with lots of pockets and other unique details retailing from around US$130 for a pair of pants, US$50 for tops, to between US$300 and US$500 dollars for a jacket.”

Aim at increased sophistication and sudden fashion changes
Creating exclusive ranges is just one approach to hook into teen appeal, and a successful one according to Suzuki who is anticipating a 30% increase in sales in fiscal 2003.

Another approach is to ape the fashion trends of the early twenties age group, but in smaller sizes, cheaper and with enough flexibility to change styles as rapidly as a volatile mood swing.

A further road into the market is by expanding established fashion brands such as Paul Smith and Adidas sportswear designed by Yoji Yamamoto specifically for the teen market, embracing both boys and girls.

A senior designer from Ships, a select shop which has also begun targeting teens, indicated that the market is becoming more orientated towards disseminating ‘fashion’ into cheaper more accessible items for teens.

“I have noticed a preference for Japanese brands,” says Dan Doyle, Ships senior designer. “Probably because of the magazines that feature current pop idols who set the trends for what they wear.”
This in turn reflects the power of the stylists who choose clothes from various select shops in Tokyo to dress the stars in for fashion shoots.

Make friends with a top stylist and your brand is already popular, because teens will buy up every item that the idol is wearing within 24 hours of the magazine hitting the stands.

New 109 mega store to open in 2003

The Mecca in Tokyo where the full gamut of market-driven teen-fashion can be obtained is in Shibuya, at 109. It is the biggest one-stop, ten-floor, 200 boutique joshikosei fashion emporium second to none.

Clothes and accessories fly out the door. An estimated US$84 to US$126 million dollars worth of sales were clocked up in 2002, and a new mega-outlet is to open late in 2003 in Machida, one of Tokyo’s outer suburbs.

“Sales here are phenomenal,” says designer Noriko Koyama. “And trends are basically following the 20 plus age group. It is a real mix with top designers like Louis Vuitton, generic sportswear or vintage remakes selling equally well.

“The teens really follow the pop star styles and cover girls. For example, Ayami Hamazaki is a big trend setter on lots of television commercials, who in turn is emulating Western pop stars like Shakira and Britney Spears - it is a big circle, and it is constantly reinventing itself.”

Styles for girls this winter have centered on two main categories, pop girly or tomboy - but with a feminine remix, for example uniting a tight top with baggy combat pants.

“When I choose something I don’t want it to be too fashionable, I want to look individual,” offers 18-year-old Misato Kobayashi outside La Foret, another mid-teen-to-twenty-something shopping paradise in trendy Harajuku.

“What appeals to me most right now is a pants style, military combat pants. But for Spring I am looking for a flowing skirt in fine material - not cotton but satin, and maybe doubled layered,” she adds.

Her friend Kanako Watanabe, on the other hand, is looking for “a lovely loose fitting knit top and a full skirt out of some fine material and flat shoes. I also want a dress with a big neck in a floppy material to wear over jeans.”

Both girls have spent a total of US$300 and US$456 respectively on what they are wearing.

According to Koyama the eclectic approach to styling will continue into spring segueing the feminine into active tomboyish sports, augmented with bright fresh colours.

“The irregular hem will be worn in spring,” she predicts. “And the BIG colour will be pink in all shades, and earth tones will also dominate but will be accented with one fresh zingy colour such as lime green or fuchsia.”

Fine-knit sweaters with big necks were selling from US$10 to US$100 dollars at 109, to be married with classic Bohemian long earrings and belts with loose hanging chains - slated by trend watchers to be the big accessory items in spring.

As to other accessories, hats are a must, as are sports shoes that go up to the ankle, along with numbered and zippered sports jackets with a horizontal or vertical stripe on the arm, currently topped off with a long chunky scarf.

Keen eyes will note that these are fashion trends that were first introduced on the runways two years back, as was the military look reflected in all things dun coloured and canvas - and which have now filtered down into the various streams of the current teen fashion scene.