The Business of Fashion
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Fast Retailing, which has long relied on outsourcing manufacturing to countries like China, is experimenting with bringing manufacturing in-house by way of a factory in Tokyo’s Shinonome area, which has produced Uniqlo’s first locally made, limited edition capsule collection, Nikkei Asia reports.
The ‘Made in Tokyo’ collection, which is available in Uniqlo’s central Tokyo flagship store and online, utilises the brand’s 3-D knit technique and was manufactured by machines from Fast Retailing partner Shima Seiki Manufacturing. The factory, which was unveiled in April, is operated by Innovation Factory, a joint venture between Fast Retailing and Shima Seiki.
According to Nikkei Asia, Fast Retailing plans on producing more limited edition items at the new facility for its Tokyo flagship to gauge demand, cut down on unsold inventory and superfluous production lines. In providing the retailer with a centralised base for development teams and Innovation Factory to meet and check prototypes, the Shinonome base will also shorten the retailer’s development cycle.
At Egypt Fashion Week, BoF founder Imran Amed shared the origin story of BoF and reflects on the forces that will shape fashion in the coming decade.
The timeless appeal of the south Asian classic has gone global — and a new London exhibition shows how it has been reinvented.
The second edition of Oud Fashion Talks explored the forces transforming the Gulf’s fashion industry today, with key learnings from BoF Insights’ ‘Fashion in the Middle East’ report and from executives of local retailers, manufacturers, designers and entrepreneurs.
Accessible luxury and advanced contemporary brands in the US and Europe can expect greater competition from Australian labels expanding overseas like Camilla, Aje and Rebecca Vallance.