Tag - fashion

 
 

FASHION

Japan has a long history of parasol use, and there's no time like the present to see if they can help you get a bit of heat relief.
LIFE / Lifestyle / Boiling Point
Jul 6, 2024
Parasols are an age-old solution to today’s crippling heat
By Japan’s Edo Period (1603-1868), bamboo and waterproofed paper ‘kasa’ (umbrellas) and ‘higasa’ (parasols) were everyday tools and props in kabuki plays.
Shoppers inside the Nike House of Innovation store on Fifth Avenue in New York on Friday
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 3, 2024
Nike plots $100 sneaker line as shares plunge in worst-ever drop
Nike shares slumped, ending the day down 19.98%, the biggest one-day percentage drop in the stock's history.
Gyaru Daijin poses in the city of Oita. Now a staffer at CGO.com, she has worked at Tenjin Core, a recently closed commercial complex in the city of Fukuoka that features gyaru fashion.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Kyushu
Jun 24, 2024
‘Gyaru’ culture makes comeback as businesses aim to loosen up meetings
The subculture is attracting attention as a way to make unproductive meetings and boring presentations more interactive and flexible.
With brightly colored hair and equally colorful attire, the 48-year-old Maaya Orii certainly stands out in a crowd.
LIFE / Style & Design
Jun 1, 2024
Paging Dr. Maaya, the neurosurgeon doubling as a fashion designer
Maaya Orii works as a neurosurgeon in Tokyo on weekdays and as a doctor in Kushiro, Hokkaido, on weekends. In her spare time, she’ll shift gears and focus on fashion.
Rakuten is working with eBay to market Japan's used fashion and accessories in the United States, taking advantage of the weak yen.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 24, 2024
Rakuten and eBay team up to test U.S. market for used Japanese fashion goods
The tie-up aims to capitalize on the currency effect and is also a move toward bargain hunting as cost-of-living pressures around the world crimp spending.
Laforet Harajuku, which celebrated its 45th anniversary last year, has been a witness to the district's evolution over the years.
BUSINESS
May 2, 2024
Harajuku strives to reclaim its former glory — and surpass it
Stakeholders are pulling out all the stops to restore the creative energy of the Tokyo district known for setting fashion trends in its heyday.
The "style architect" for Jay-Z since 1994, June Ambrose sees influences of her work across the Japanese fashion landscape.
LIFE / Style & Design
May 1, 2024
June Ambrose: ‘Cultural appropriation is the best form of flattery’
Ambrose has been Jay-Z’s designated “style architect” since the billionaire started Roc-A-Fella Records back in 1994.
Japanese fashion designer Yumi Katsura (center) greets guests during the finale of the 2015 Yumi Katsura Grand Collection in Tokyo. Katsura has died at the age of 94.
LIFE / Style & Design
Apr 30, 2024
Yumi Katsura, a pioneer of Japan’s bridal fashion, dies at 94
Katsura developed a unique style combining Japan’s traditional techniques with French motifs throughout a career spanning over half a century.
Cute characters like Pikachu are deeply ingrained in Japanese culture. The global reach of kawaii has contributed to Japan's soft power and international appeal.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 26, 2024
What does the global power of kawaii say about us?
Kawaii is one of Japan's greatest cultural exports. But cuteness is more than just a fad or a commercial success story: It's part of our evolution.
A hiker walks toward Asahidake in Hokkaido. The health and environmental issues around PFAS could be a particular problem for Japan, which boasts a number of globally renowned outdoor brands and related suppliers.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability / OUR PLANET
Mar 10, 2024
Japan’s revered outdoor brands face down PFAS challenge
Outdoor apparel consumers are generally more environmentally conscious, but are likely to be using products that have a big environmental footprint.
1924
JAPAN / History / Japan Times Gone By
Mar 1, 2024
Japan Times 1924: Japan nice but men dress in queer ways
A piece by women visiting Tokyo gives us a century-old take on what tourists in the 1920s thought of "weird Japan."
Dancer Pau Aran Gimeno presents a creation by designer Yuima Nakazato in Paris.
LIFE / Style & Design
Jan 25, 2024
Yuima Nakazato stages operatic haute couture show on Paris runway
The designer's spring-summer runway collection was linked to the opera "Idomeneo," debuting next month in Geneva.
Japanese model Dulmi, 24, was selected as one of eight models in Vogue Open Casting's class of 2023.
JAPAN / Society
Jan 3, 2024
Dulmi: The biracial model bringing change to modeling in Japan and beyond
In a still-rare recognition of the diversity that exists in Japan, the Osaka native was chosen for the 2023 class of Vogue's Open Casting initiative.
Customers browse through items sold as part of the Uniqlo Pre-owned Clothes Project at the brand's Harajuku store in Tokyo in October.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 19, 2023
Japan revisits used garments as inflation adds to fashion appeal
Awareness of the sector's huge environmental impact has yet to spark much interest in secondhand options in the world third-biggest clothes market.
People walk past the booth of fashion retailer Shein during the first China International Supply Chain Expo (CISCE) in Beijing on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 29, 2023
Shein’s IPO plan to fuel scrutiny over cotton and China roots
In addition to fighting skeptics, Shein is also locked in a battle with rival Temu
A Tiffany store in Shanghai. Luxury companies are targeting VIC's, or very important clients, as China's post-pandemic economic slowdown dries up the spending power of the middle class.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 20, 2023
Exclusivity the name of the game as firms target China's wealthiest
Brands are focusing on selling fewer, more valuable items, relying on luxury consumers.
Pedestrians and shoppers walk past a branch of fashion retailer H&M in central Stockholm on July 17.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 9, 2023
Sustainable cloth-maker Renewcell struggling amid slow adoption
Stock in Renewcell lost over 80% of its value in the last month and the firm has reported an operating loss of $17 million in nine months.
Lionel Messi jerseys, in Inter Miami’s distinctive pink color, for sale at the Adidas store in Manhattan in September. In the span of three months, the soccer superstar has made Inter Miami’s eye-catching pink jersey the hottest piece of sports merchandise on the planet.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 2, 2023
Adidas and Puma eye 'sports culture' market as soccer courts fashion
The Women's World Cup showed huge unmet demand for soccer-related merchandise for women, with the trend extending to fashion-conscious fans of both sexes.
Construction workers repair a street during a heat wave in Corpus Christi, Texas, in July.
BUSINESS
Sep 1, 2023
Startups are inventing cooling clothes for a hotter future
With 2023 on track to be the hottest year on record, a number of startups are exploring new technologies and textiles for keeping people cool.
The Shein logo at the company's office in Singapore in 2022. The company, which sells $7 dresses and $5 home goods in more than 150 countries, has moved its headquarters to Singapore but manufactures most of its products in China.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 29, 2023
U.S. states ask SEC to confirm Shein complies with labor rules
The request adds to pressure on Shein as China hawks in Congress target Chinese firms that do not align with U.S. foreign policy goals.

Longform

The byzantine process for converting a foreign driver’s license into a Japanese one entails mountains of paperwork and significant stamina — unless you're a lucky license holder from a country or region where these requirements are waived.
Driving in Japan isn’t hard. Getting the license is.