Miss Tokyo Girls Collection up for grabs

Written by: Rebecca Milner on June 4, 2008 at 10:12 pm | In LIFESTYLE / FASHION | 1 Comment

Girls Walker has announced the beginning of the search for the next Miss Tokyo Girls Collection, the finale event for the now famous biannual “real fashion” festival. This is the ultimate opportunity for a would-be reader model, not only to grace the pages of one’s favorite magazine, but to actually join the stage with top teen fashion icons.

Unlike traditional pageants, where the winner is selected by a panel of “expert judges,” Miss TGC is eventually chosen from a panel of peers: the girls in the audience who can vote with their mobile phones.

The role is a springboard for modeling success not only in Japan but in East Asia as well, as the real fashion movement, driven by a TGC now held in Beijing, is making serious inroads into China. Despite lingering sensitivities between the two countries, which can sometimes hinder cross-border success, the sheer popularity of the style has made Tokyo Girls’ fashion, and the faces supporting it, a hit among young women and teens in urban China.

On a similar note, OTTO Corp. has announced the June 1st opening of the OTO-Tokyo Selection boutique in Shanghai. The select shop features Tokyo fashion labels, like Maison Gilfy, ReDark, and Glad News that show at TGC and have boutiques in Shibuya 109, and promises that new items will hit the racks on the same schedule as the Tokyo stores. OTTO has also announced plans to open 20 such boutiques in China by 2012.

Tags: Fashion, online shopping, Shibuya 109
Category: LIFESTYLE / FASHION
Other categories: MARKETING IDEAS, DIGITAL LIFE, PRODUCT INNOVATIONS

What Japanese girly-girls want for Christmas

Written by: Rebecca Milner on December 12, 2007 at 2:45 pm | In LIFESTYLE / FASHION | 1 Comment

What do girls in Japan want for Christmas? Cosmo-esque fashion magazine Vivi asks 300 girls what they want and gives readers a round-up of the top 14. In descending order:

14. Christian Roth sunglasses
13. Christian Louboutin glitter pumps
12. Gucci boots
11. iPod Touch
10. Louis Vuitton Speedy
9. Balenciaga quilting bag

8. Goyard tote bag
7. Colorful Louis Vuitton accessories
6. Enosoluna Christmas rosary
5. Princess-inspired accessories
4. Brand name wallet
3. Sparkly watch
2. Diamond heart necklace

…and the #1 choice is…

1. A delicate ring

Since Christmas gifts are typically exchanged between couples, the romantic significance of the top items explains their popularity while others, like the shoes and sunglasses, are just trendy. The cheapest item on the list (and the only one under $89) is a gold heart pendant for $70 while the most expensive is the Louis Vuitton Speedy, which retails at $2,350 in Japan.

Fortunately cheaper replicas, like the knock-off glitter pumps and rhinestone necklaces pictured above, can be found at stores such as Shibuya 109.

Visit our…ONLINE SHOP…Buy cool and trendy gadgets & lifestyle products straight from Japan…fast, reliable and safe…delivered right to your doorstep…

Tags: Christmas, Fashion, Gifts, Retail, Shibuya 109, Vivi
Category: LIFESTYLE / FASHION
Other categories: MARKETING IDEAS, DIGITAL LIFE, PRODUCT INNOVATIONS

Christmas: Shibuya 109 style

Written by: Rebecca Milner on December 1, 2007 at 1:14 am | In LIFESTYLE / FASHION | 1 Comment

Freed of its weighty Christian implications (since most Japanese people are not Christian), Christmas in Japan has morphed into a high-pressure romantic extravaganza (have a date or feel pathetic and depressed) marked by expensive dates and present exchange between young couples.

Christmas illuminations (light displays), which go up as early as the end of October, play a big part in this, as one part of the Christmas date might include going to see the lights and maybe a little shopping. Catering to a moneyed (or would like to be) crowd, the displays at Tokyo’s upscale shopping malls typically endeavor to create images of sophistication and refinement. Take this Swarovski display at Omotesando Hills for example:

Meanwhile rival crystal company Baccarat does the display for Ebisu Garden Place. How would you feel if your boyfriend took you to the place that puts out the same light-up plastic Santa every year? Right, you get the point.

Teen fashion mecca Shibuya 109, though similarly intent on conveying wealth and glamour, however, wants nothing to do with refinement. Presenting Shibuya 109 “Xmas in Las Vegas!”

The ideal behind “real fashion” shopping complexes like Shibuya 109 that carry almost entirely trendy domestic labels is that they project an image of giving young shoppers what they really want, with a “by girls for girls” attitude, and thus stand in contrast to the imposing luxury malls and their unattainable foreign goods.

Linking Christmas with Sin City may seem inappropriate, however, I’m sure cynics would agree that 109 hits the mark in depicting the contemporary commercial Christmas experience.

Come on girls! Time to start looking for that perfect Christmas date dress!

Tags: Christmas, Fashion, Shibuya 109
Category: LIFESTYLE / FASHION
Other categories: MARKETING IDEAS, DIGITAL LIFE, PRODUCT INNOVATIONS