Things that are ahead of fashion

Yuichiro Noguchi
Aug 26
5 min read

Updated: Aug 31

There may be no other country that is as sensitive to trends as Japan. If you compare it with Westerners, you can see how sensitive Japanese people are to trends from their fashion, culture, and nationality. Louis Vuitton is a world-famous brand, but while such brands are aimed at a small number of wealthy people in Europe and the United States, there is data that nearly 60% of Louis Vuitton's sales were Japanese in the past, so that Japanese people also I love it.

Because fashion brands are constantly proposing new trends for the meaning of their existence, the previous ones will at the same time become behind the trend and create many fashion victims. While Westerners choose the clothes they want to wear in order to be themselves rather than trends, in the case of Japan, a culture with strong peer pressure is also reflected in fashion, and there is a strong tendency to choose "clothes that many people think are good" rather than "the clothes they like", and Europe It can be said that it is in an environment where trends are more likely to be born than rice.

In Japan, which is strongly brand-oriented, there is a similar trend outside the fashion industry, and it is not uncommon for cars in Europe and the United States to continue to ride for more than 10 years after purchase, or to continue to ride for a long time while repairing, while in Japan, new The average cycle for car replacement is 7 years, and when it comes to used cars, it is only 5 years. I think this is largely due to the custom that car manufacturers have changed models every 4 years, but like the previous fashion brands, it can be seen that the trend is greatly affected by automobiles. By the way, the number of years of ownership of parts by domestic manufacturers is about 10 years, and the tax on cars that have been registered for more than 13 years since the new car is also increasing, and in order to maintain the economy of the automobile industry, the situation where manufacturers and the government have to replace them is forced. It can be said that it is being created.

Food and drink account for a particularly large proportion of expenditure and is the shortest cycle of consumer goods. Japan has the largest number of restaurants per capita in the world, and the Engel coefficient is second only to Italy. By the way, Japan ranked 3rd in developed countries, and Greece ranked 4th, and Italy ranked 8th among the world's government debt balances in 2020, while developing countries such as South America and Africa. According to data released by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in 2019, food loss in Japan amounts to 6.43 million tons per year, and the annual amount of food waste per Japanese person ranks sixth in the world and the worst in Asia. By the way, the first place is the United Kingdom, and the other top places are all developed countries in Europe and the United States.

In Japan, fashion is also accelerating when it comes to houses that should be farthest from fashion. In Europe and the United States, housing is considered an asset, and even after decades, it will continue to circulate as a second-hand house at a reasonable price, while many Japanese houses will have no asset value in 30 years. This means that Japanese housing is not an asset, but simply a debt, and in the case of Japanese housing, it is based on the idea that the building materials used should be kept for 30 years because it is a prerequisite for reconstruction.

As for the floor plan, it was not until the 90s that LDK, which is now a matter of course, became popular in the general public. It is a very recent trend when it comes to peninsula-type kitchens and island-type kitchens. Walk-in closets, shoe closets, pantries, laundry rooms, etc. are rarely seen in houses built more than 30 years ago, and at most they can be seen outside of houses and apartments for foreigners. .

In Japan, not only food and clothing, but also durable consumer goods such as housing, furniture, and automobiles that should be used for a long time are greatly influenced by consumer culture, and the economic burden and losses caused by them are considerably greater than those in Europe and the United States. To maintain such an economy, we prioritize work at the expense of the time we spend with our daily family and private time. When I ask people what they want from the government, many people, young and old, say "economic recovery" in unison, but how many people in foreign countries want the government to give priority to economic recovery?

Japan is the world's third largest economy, and among developed countries, its material wealth is outstanding in a country surrounded by new and convenient things. Japanese incomes are by no means low compared to those in Europe and the United States, and rents and prices are not particularly high. Security is good and medical care and education are complete, but it is ranked 56th in Japan's happiness ranking, which is quite low among developed countries.

There is a saying in Chinese thinker Lao Tzu, "Those who know enough will be rich," which means "knowing the satisfaction of status is happiness". People's desires are endless, and the feeling of "wanting more" sprouts. If you try to be greedy like that, you may not only not be satisfied with your daily life, but also destroy yourself.

Compared to other countries, Japan has a fairly large fashion market size and the number of brand and clothing stores, and 2.9 billion clothes are sold every year in Japan alone, of which 1.5 billion are unsold, and many are discarded to maintain brand value. The cost of the product also includes costs such as waste losses associated with overproduction to prevent loss of sales opportunities and profit margins in sale sales, which leads to the setting of a price higher than the original product value. This has led to further sluggish sales, leading to a decrease in proper digestibility and an increase in sales and outlets.

If you look at it simply, it may seem like you can buy it cheaply, but in the long run, deflation in the fashion industry has led to a hollowing out of the domestic fashion industry, and gradually quality decline and design copies are rampant. The product power itself will also weaken. In every era, what lies beyond "mass production and mass consumption" is the trend of poor things. I think the current situation of the fashion industry suggests the future of Japanese consumer culture in modern society. What we really need is not "cheap or bad", but an environment where good quality products can be obtained at a reasonable price, and it is a culture where "good quality design and manufacturing" can be nurtured.