Testing what's hot in the cradle of cool

Remember last time we were talking about cool hunting? I just read an article about cool hunting in Tokyo, Japan.

Right now, fashion houses are trying out new products on the teenyboppers of Tokyo. Some Western companies have signed on with local partners who can better read the Japanese market.

"I can see something happen in Tokyo and watch the ripple effect across the Pacific to New York and then watch as it goes back to L.A. ," says Kiester, who travels to the Japanese capital four times a year in search of inspiration.

Ohio-based Abercrombie & Fitch and Sweden's H&M plan to set up shop in Tokyo in 2008, while Spain's Zara is expected to double its store acount to 50 over the new three years in Japan.

However, sometimes, though, all those Tokyo teenagers can be a bit too fashion-forward. Last year LeSportsac launched a range of bags in Japan with a pattern featuring brightly colored button mushrooms, a motif that figures prominently in the kawaii (Japanese for "cute") genre that includes icons such as Hello Kitty. Although the mushroom bags were a hit in Japan, Kiester has been reluctant to introduce them in the U.S. "It's too 1970s. Too psychedelic," she says. "We weren't ready for that at home."


Reference:
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_19/b4033073.htm?chan=globalbiz_asia+index+page_top+stories