Archive for the 'Fashion' Category

MAJOLICA MAJORCA

Published on 2008-01-24 in Design, Fashion and Uncategorized. 0 Comments

MAJOLICA MAJORCA is one of the brands in Shisendo that is a big cosmetic company in Japan. Shiseido has some different cosmetic brands; maquillage and MK2 so on. This company’s target is mainly over 20 year olds so the price is a little expensive for teenagers. According to the research, they want to get good and cute things which they can proud of them without money. It used to make “ff” where is easy to go and buy cosmetics for young people. Therefore it couldn’t that was cheap cosmetic brand but it didn’t become popular. Normally this kind of cosmetic is sold in drug stores get enough display space. In the drag store, there are many cosmetics so the company had to think about how it can stand out rather than others.

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advertisementThe key word of concept decided from the research. “Quick transformation, which is like magic.” And to make strong characteristic, it made the own story. The content is “if you use MAJOLICA MAJORCA, it makes your wish come true” that is like fairytale. Magazines for young girls, poster and web site, all advertisements are used the story. The feature is graphic designs are just used one scene of the story and if you see the web site, all stories complete. It also putted it into the display. It made the brand own world in stores. And also the brand Logo has the story with bird. There is story; one small bird was given beautiful wings and crown by reciting spell by goddess. Then the bird flied away to make all girls be beautiful. MAJOLICA MAJORCA is a spell which goddess recited. It was so successful because it is easy to notice the brand and characteristic, too.



To make completely the brand, Logo and color image etc are very important. The design is important. Each cosmetic is used different icon elements. For example, the compact case to store eye shadow and cheek is box. Powder like foundation is limitation cosmetic uses candle icon. These icons show the features for each. Main brand color is only gold and white. But some of them use color to express that thing’s color like red eyeliner is used red color a little bit.


All cosmetics are valid for one year. If you cannot remember the date when it opened, try to smell it. When it smells strange, it means it is old. After that, a foundation case is refilling package so only this can use for long time. But cases except for it are threw away and people get new one.

New Wave vs. New Rave

Published on 2008-01-24 in Fashion, Music and Society. 0 Comments

A movement is always happening. Today, it is called a “New Rave” movement. The term New Rave is heavily inspired by the old 80’s movement known as New Wave, so the two movements are often compared. The New Wave movement occurred in England, the United States, Germany, and also in Japan, and it affected many other countries. Both of the movement s– New Wave and New Rave – first described the music scene, but soon or later it came to describe the whole culture. There are some similarities and also differences between New Wave and New Rave movement, from the point of view of fashion, music, and social effects.


There are slight differences in fashion between New Wave and New Rave, but the common concept is “to be distinguished”. Every kid wants to stand out in the a disco or club. The New Wave movement overturned the stereotype, and more preposterous styling was popular. The trend started with no-colored monotone. Then the style called “futuristic”; represented by the techno cut, androgyny and unisex fashion. On the other hand, even though the concept is same, New Ravers love color. Club kids are filled with neon, fluorescent colors. Just as techno cut hair and androgyny were the important elements for New Wavers, face- painting is it for the New Ravers. Pink and yellow fluorescent colors were popularized by the New Ravers, and it is spilling over into major brands. Now the New Rave movement is a source of inspirations for fashion designer; the neon colors and showy patterned clothes have started to appear on the runway. Even Time Magazine’s style section reported that New Rave is the next big trend. Although the New Wave fashion trends were a big topic, but they were never admired by society; whereas the New Rave trends are.


Blondie/NewWave Klaxons/NewRaveThe words New Wave and New Rave were originally created to refer to genres of music. New Wave music was initially marketed as more mixed with other genres, such as funk, rock-n-roll, reggae, and ska. The New Wave bands, such as New Order, The Cure, Kraftwerk, and more were born to resist rock-n-roll, which was the main current since the 1970s. They took in electronica sounds such as drum machines and synthesizers. On the other hand, New Rave is a style of music fusing elements of electronic, disco, punk, and New Wave music. It is characterized by its strong tendency towards rock music. Even though both genres are a mixture of many kinds of music, they resemble each other in this way; “rock based electronic music”.


2012 OlympicBoth of the movements have some social phenomena. The New Wave movement first happened in England, gradually spreading especially to Australia and Japan. The New Wave movement gave a chance to expand Gay culture, because fashion got freer. Also it caused a video revolution. By this New Wave movement, music video added a whole new dimension to music as a visual art form; it changed the whole idea of the music video. Likewise it effected design too. The term New Wave has meaning for design field, specifically the typography that actively defied the strict grid-based design; the representative is Wolfgang Weingart. However New Rave movement has only been happening since 2006, when it started in England. At first the term New Rave shows the special genre of music, but now it is being used for fashion, and art. New Rave was not only responsible for pouring the idea of Fluorescence into the world of fashion; this trend also invoked some strange visual phenomena in recent music videos and designs. The society was surprised by the new logo for the 2012 London Olympic, because it is a very colorful alternative, just like New Rave.

In conclusion, New Wave and New Rave is partly similar and partly different in the aspect of fashion, music and social effect. There has always been various kinds of movements happening in society. Now it is New Rave movement. Back in 70s, it was New Wave movement. Even though the time is very different, they are somehow similar. As time goes on, sometimes the similar movement might come full circle, like New Wave and New Rave.

The Brand Identity of UNIQLO

Published on 2007-12-19 in Design and Fashion. 0 Comments

Uniqlo was born in 1984 in Hiroshima. It was an unisex casual wear store, and the name was “Uniqle Clothing Warehouse” at that moment. Uniqlo is a combination of the words Unique and Clothing. The brand belongs to a company named First Retailing Co. A decade after opening the first shop, there were over 100 Uniqlo stores throughout Japan. The key of their popularization was the products were low cost, but high quality. Since the brand’s philosophy is “un-branded fashion”, their design is simple and noncommittal, without using brand logo on the face. The target range is all ages; from infants to seniors. Now Uniqlo has 703 stores in Japan, 11 in Korea and the UK, 5 in Honk Kong, 4 in China, and one in the USA, and another will open one in Paris in 2009; in total 760 stores in 6 countries, with over 20,000 employees and earnings of $3.5 billion in 2004 alone.


UT gift packageUniqlo is a fashion brand. Their fleece series is so popular in winter, because of the cheap price which are around 1900 to 2400 yen, it sells over 800,000 unites. Also the brand started the lingerie line from 2004. These products come in plastic or paper bags where the Uniqlo’s logo is printed, and they are simply designed with the theme color, red. Recently, in 2006, Uniqlo launched a T-shirt specialty line called UT, and this store produces the unique package; a plastic cylinder-shaped case to keep T-shirts. Lastly Uniqlo started body and hair care lines – “HOTEL HOMES by Uniqlo”


There are no uniforms, but there is dress code. Uniqlo employees have to wear Uniqlo products that are being sold in store at the moment, to be a role model for customers. Also there is a web-site called “Uniqlo-Jump” which is for the the applicants of Uniqlo employees. The pictures on web site use real Uniqlo staff as models.

Recently Uniqlo is putting their effort toward design / visual elements. The brand often uses famous domestic and foreign designers to direct their logo, advertisements, interior design, and architecture. The logo has evolved twice. The 3rd logo was designed by the famous Japanese designer Kashiwa Sato in 2006. Color has consistency; red and white. Uniqlo uses famous Japanese public figures, such as actors and actresses for ads and TV commercials. Also since they opened the SoHo shop, the catalogue-like concept book started to be published every seasons, and famous creators appears in every issue; Terry Richardson, Ryan McGinley, Kim Gordon, Peter Saville and more. This book “Uniqlo Paper” contains very interesting photo shoots that shows Uniqlo’s product in playful way, such as fold, tie, and warp the cashmere sweaters to form a doll.


Sneak peek in the Uniqlo Paper:


Uniqlo’s flag ship store (the best quality shop that represents whole brand) was opened in Ginza in October in 2005. The shop consists of 5 floors. The façade, which was designed by Klein Dytham Architecture, is very dynamic. SoHo is put a high value on its futuristic interior which was designed by Japanese architect Masamichi Katayama from Wonderwall.


SoHo GinzaRecently Uniqlo had been eager to support amateur creators; they have produced an annual T-shirts design competition since 2005, called the UT GRAND PRIX AWARD. There is one winner who receives 3 million yen, and 30 other prizes; those 31 winners’ designs will be applied and sold as T-shirts by Uniqlo.

UNIQLO

Published on 2007-01-29 in Design and Fashion. 0 Comments
Uniqlo is the one of the famous brand in Japan. there are many kind of size, color and cothes. So, you can choose and buy things that fit with your sensibility. This style became of established after the consideration of brand. It is successful is the low price and high quality. Before it became popular, everyone thought such prices were impossible. But by making cloth in China costs were reduced. For example, the fleece jacket, one of the famous thing in Uniqlo. The price is only 1990 yen and also high quality. Even there were 50 colors and they added 3 new different colors every week.
In 2000, the Uniqlo sales were peaked, but it started falling off in 2001, because the other companies imitated the style. There are other shops that are cheap, high quality and fashionable which people think is better than Uniqlo. Uniqlo looked for the way to improve sales. For example, it started “designers invitation project” in 2006. It is to collobrate with very famous fashion designer from around the world. The good point is we can buy their clothes at a low price. Designer clothes normally cost over 60000 to 100000 yen. But in Uniqlo, they cost fewer than 9900 yen. The sale in 2006 increased. But there is also a bad point. People who do not know about them think it is very expensive, because the image of Uniqlo is to be able to but high quality clothes only little money. So, I think the uniqlo has to explain who they are first, and also, they need to improve the own designs. Some people start thinking the Uniqlo is coming fashionable. Before the project started, some people thought it is not fashionable and originality.
I think if it becomes the fashionable without “designers invitation project”, the sales would start to increase. I do not think it have to design more gorgous. It just bases on their concept with a trend.

Rei Kawakubo

Published on 2006-07-20 in Design and Fashion. 0 Comments

Japanese designers are getting famous in all over the world. Rei Kawakubo is one of them. She is a one of fashion designer of Comme des Garcons.

Her design is very unique. Some of them has big holes and feared. In 1983, She proposed some unfinished clothes. Its estimation was separated. Some people said they were very important and value. But, some people were shocked, and said, “Swiss cheese sweaters.” The whole idea that there could be beauty in unfinished very extra ordinary. But she didn’t care about it. She never be content making clothes everyone else finds beautiful. Insted, she thought, “why don’t you know (how they are beautiful)?”

And now, she could make people understand that clothes do not have to be completely finished and that could be beautiful when it is made to look old material. And she is at center of today’s designer. Many designers and artists have been influence by her, it is like Chanel used to de

Sex Appeal Ads Think Up Inferiority Complex

Published on 2006-07-15 in Communication, Design and Fashion. 0 Comments

The fashion brands Prada and Calvin Klein suggested simple, original and reserve expression for advertisements that attract and incentive for my inferiority complex. So many people check fashion magazine out to follow the trend, also to find better looks or beautiful things. People care about trend, also scare about old looks. It seems we change to current trend to dissolve the complex. The consciousness becomes eager. The insufficiency becomes highly motivated. Also it is become desire. We live based on the desire that came from the complex and insufficiency. However, so many people are not conscious about complex, they do not know what insufficiency for them. So they do not know what they want. Our consciousness world made by language, there is no language in the unconsciousness world. If you follow only looks and visual it is going to take miss take. So advertisement has unduly life. Because, It gives many appeal to sell the product that using manytechniques to catch my interest. Advertisement suggested us to do encouragement in our living life better. But that are prone far away from our general life. Often fashion advertisement show us unreality world. Here is perfect looks gay standing. There is dark light set apart beauty shadow. The reason why advertisement use beautiful image, happiness image that sell the product. Also advertisement make perfect world. Brand tells us the best solution and good way to be perfect. The advertisement gives us some clue to be better. Also it is the symbolical images of longing. It is ineffectual appeal if I bought the under wear to get sex appeal for women. It is important thing that what I need for satisfaction, what I want to need. It is sometimes have some bad food is good for your health. I think inadequate thing has value more than adequate thing. So It is the one of the important element for brand that the thing irrefrangibly. But it is the one of the way of thinking that anything will do if it is irrefrangibly.




Journey to a Secondhand Clothing Store

Published on 2006-07-15 in Design, Fashion, Highlights and Society. 0 Comments

•WHAT’S SECOND HAND CLOTHING STORE?

Second hand clothing store mean “Furugiya” in Japanese. Customer from all over the world imports old clothes. Japan imports almost all old clothes from the United States. Most popular old clothes are jeans. Jeans have big difference in prices. For example, the cheapest jeans are a hundred yen. But, most expensive jeans are more than one million yen. Why jeans are so expensive. Because, expensive jeans have remarkable ways of color down, wearing out, stitches and so on. So, if jeans have precious shape, it will be expensive. Recently, old clothes of leather and goods, which famous brands produce, are very popular for young people.


•HISTORY OF OLD CLOTHES

In 1688, there appeared costumes for rent store in Asakusa.In 1877, second hand clothing store became famous in Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto.Some people always buy old clothes today.



•HOW TO DECIDE PRICES

How do you think why old clothes have a price? Also, who decides that price? Some causes are cost price, exchange route, postage, and traffic cost. Then, stores have to consider about the price for profit. Because if it costs too much, clothes will be expensive, and they can’t sell. So, customer has to choose the best store. Good things, Japan imports from abroad very often, so customer can buy with the cheapest price.



•FROM HERE TO WHERE

Old clothes are always traveling some places. When trashes are thrown away, they are divided in two ways. For example, they recycle old clothes that we can’t wear any more at the factory. In the other way, old clothes keep traveling.



• OLD CLOTHES IN ALL OVER THE WORLD

Japan is the richest in varieties of old clothes in all over the world. At the same time, they are also the most expensive. Japanese customers often import from the United States and United Kingdom. Besides, they have bought in France, Holland, Vietnam, and Cambodia. But, surprisingly old clothes are not popular in fashionable country, Italy.



•CONCLUSION

I have never known that second hand clothing store became famous from Muromachi period. I hope second hand clothing store will be a communication between countries in all over the world.