Tokyo, 23 February, /AJMEDIA/
Fashionistas across Japan were heart-broken when Forever 21 announced that they would be closing all 14 of their stores the country back in 2019. But those broken hearts began to mend when the fashion giants formed a partnership with Tokyo-based apparel management company Adastria last year, announcing that they would be returning to Japan.
In preparation for their grand return, a pop up store opened at Tokyo’s Shibuya Hz on February 21.
At the pop-up, around 120 new items from the Spring/Summer 2023 collection are on display, which can then be ordered from Adastria’s e-commerce site .st (read as ‘dot street’). Visitors will be able to try on items in the store’s showroom, and there’s an area where you can have your photo taken by a professional photographer for free, wearing the clothes you’ve tried on.
One of the reasons suggested for Forever 21’s closure in Japan is that they were too focused on showcasing fashion that was popular in the United States, rather than finding what worked well within Japan itself. This time around, Forever 21 have identified six different trends that are popular in Japan, and are showcasing clothes that fit those trends.
First is the Basic trend, which features lots of denim and cut-and-sew items. Clothes in the “Basic” genre are unique yet easy-to-use items that are in line with current trends.
Since partnering up with Adastria for their return to Japan, Forever 21 have made it their mission to shake their reputation as a ‘fast fashion’ brand, where clothes are mass-produced and mass-disposed. Instead, Forever 21 Japan hopes to produce quality clothes made to last forever, and reduce their environmental impact. Keeping in line with other stores under Adastria’s care, the pop-up store will also feature a “Play Cycle” — a collection area for people to donate unwanted clothing. The collected donations are then recycled into raw materials for clothing and automobile interiors. Donating clothes will also get you points to be used on the .st website.
