Fashion brands
Japan is home to large fashion brands catering to the diverse demand of consumers; ranging from affordable casual wear to high-end luxury fashion. Whereas global fashion shows are major trendsetters for the imported luxury fashion segment, local fashion events showcasing casual wear primarily by Japanese brands are targeted at the general public. Additionally, fast fashion companies such as Fast Retailing’s popular brands Uniqlo and GU are steadily rolling out new styles through their seasonal collections, while revolutionizing the apparel market with innovative functional wear.Sustainable fashion
In recent years, the awareness of sustainability became a contributing factor in the purchasing behavior in Japan. Starting with the purchase of new items, consumers’ demand for sustainable materials is rising, with organic and recycled materials leading the trends. Furthermore, instead of discarding unneeded clothes as residual waste, items in a good condition receive a second lifespan within the reuse market.Addressing this issue, re-commerce platforms to resale unwanted clothing spawned the country’s first unicorn startup to be valued at one billion U.S dollars. The C2C flea market app Mercari more than doubled its active user base within a few years after launch and became the most popular online marketplace app for secondhand goods in Japan.
