No Logo
Yes, fashionistas. Uniqlo has come to Manhattan. I checked out the store on opening day, and found pretty familiar items; jeans, cashmere sweaters (for a $40 bargain) and fleece. In case you don’t know, Uniqlo is often called the “Gap” of Japan. Industry analysts are already wondering how Uniqlo will manage to distinguish itself from The Gap and Old Navy, which emphasize similar “no logo” basics. New York has seen foreing “bargain” retailers like H&M, Zara and Mexx show up in the past few years, and it will be interesting to see how Unqiqlo competes.
I spoke to a few staff members who insisted that all designs were “Japanese,” and yet I do know — from someone who spoke off the record — that American designers have been hired to “adjust” the Japanese items to American tastes. No word yet on exactly what this means, but I do know that the merchandise sold in Manhattan is slightly different from what is sold in the Freehold New Jersey shop.
I also found the repeated emphasis on “Japanese denim” to be very interesting. Like the Gap, most Uniqlo clothing is manufactured in China. The denim, however, seems to be a different story. Check out the special attention paid to these jeans.
This reminds me of the inroads that Evisu is slowly making among the fashion conscious. I recently went to the Evisu sample sale which “discounted” denim down from around $500 to $100. No pictures allowed there, so sadly I cannot share. But perhaps, like the Italian company Diesel, the very idea of Japanese denim will capture people’s imagination.
Where is the store? Are the people that work there Japanese?
November 22nd, 2005 at 1:47 amUniqlo is located on Greene between Broome and Spring, on the East side of the street (closer to Spring). The Evisu sample sale continues this week at clothingline. Check out http://www.clothingline.com for details. Happy shopping! PS — Uniqlo has $40 cashmere sweaters. The staff is a mix of American, bi-lingual and very, very Japanese Japanese.
November 22nd, 2005 at 2:05 amJapanese denim? Is someone pulling our collective legs? What a bunch of marketing crock!
November 22nd, 2005 at 2:07 pm[...] ably. But is there other, less corrupt genres in the music biz? (tags: hip-hop drugwar) Japundit » No Logo Oh, man, why don’t we have one in SF? (tags: uniqlo newyorkcity) San Jo [...]
November 29th, 2005 at 5:48 pm
November 30th, 2005 at 9:04 pmEvisu, the original Japanese premium denim brand, founded by the visionary Hidehiko Yamane, is a relatively nascent designer brand compared to the traditional French, German, British and Italian designer names and fashion houses. That said, Evisu has undoubtedly shown maturity beyond its years and now leads rather than follows.
Evisu’s impressive success appears to run juxtaposition with the extraordinary growth in the Internet and online transactions. Original and genuine Evisu products were available to buy online as early as 1999 which led to an almost surreal intertwining of brand name and cyberspace. Evisu was one of the earliest, if not the earliest, brand to be direct associated with online accessibility which certainly gave the brand an edge and led to an explosion in sales. The echoes of self-adulation resonated from Japan to Europe, America and back to the land of the rising sun — all was rosy in the oriental garden.
No fairy story would be complete without a shady adversary lurking in the shadows — and it’s no different for Evisu, although their nemesis is not your typical dragon. The Evisu adversary is much more elusive but like the dragons of fairy stories it has many heads, in fact millions of heads and if it’s slain it comes back once more in a more determine and malignant fashion. So what is this online dragon? You’ve probably guessed already - counterfeits! Evisu Jeans are surely the most copied garment online. The Internet is awash with endless counterfeit Evisu jeans. In fact, it is reported that Evisu employ people to scan the Internet seeking counterfeits in an attempt to protect their image and brand name. It’s said, they have several individuals specifically assigned to eBay — their job is to report suspected counterfeits and have them removed and where possible seek legal redress. Evisu surely have mixed feelings about the Internet. Cyberspace played a big part in propelling Evisu into the heady-heights of the fashion elites. However, it transpires there’s a price to pay for this success and the question on the lips of every brand must be: is it a price worth paying?
February 11th, 2006 at 5:08 pm[...] n Uniqlo
A little more gossip from Japan Fashion Week. We told you last year about Uniqlo’s new presence in the States. It appears that this powerhouse of a company has more p [...]
April 1st, 2006 at 6:13 am[...] The wall of color and the simple lines may look like Uniqlo to you, but I promise you, this is NOT the same store you might visit in Japan. I was privileged enough last night to attend the flagship store opening ; longtime readers of Japundit will remember that we had a lively discussion last year about the early test-marketing attempts of Uniqlo corporate here in NYC, and that we speculated how it would fare long term against global competitors such as H&M and Zara. [...]
November 11th, 2006 at 4:06 pmhello. it’s a nice day for your ideas and our money
January 12th, 2007 at 4:35 am