Asian design is gaining ground in Paris

Asian designers have the wind in their sails. This season, there were a dozen of them that figured in the official calendar of the spring/summer 2010 fashion shows. Proof that despite the slowdown of the French economy, the image of Paris has not been tarnished in the eyes of designers of Asian origin who continue to go there to present their collections.

At the same time, Asian design is gaining ground in the French capital which is opening up more and more to diversity. This trend is reinforced by the fact that at the moment, French fashion houses such as Christian Lacroix are experiencing considerable financial difficulties. This season has seen the return, among others, of Shiatzy Chen. Founded thirty years ago in Taipei and distributed via 50 sales outlets in Taiwan, China and Paris, this fashion house presented its second prêt-à-porter collection in Paris.

Whilst Fashion Week was in full swung, on 1st October the Uniqlo brand launched its flagship, astern, in Paris. Eight hundred people formed a queue an hour before the opening, according to the management. On disembarkation in Paris, Uniqlo dedicated a range of t-shirts to iconic French brands from the Renault 5 to the Le Monde newspaper. But its finest token of love remains the choice of Paris for the worldwide launch of its line of 150 articles, designed by Jil Sander.

Other jewels of Asian fashion targeting international development are the Italo-Japanese Giuliano Fujiwara brand and the Spingle Move top-of-the-range sneaker brand. Headed by the Japanese stylist Masataka Matsumura since 2005, its première has got off to a good start in France with fashion combining Japanese design and the best of Italian artisanal culture. The highlights of the men’s collection such as the Fujiwara trousers with a very low crotch are currently available in two Parisian shops (Spirito Divino and Planisphère).

As for Spingle Move, the streetwear brand which produces over 3 million pairs of shoes is increasing the number of collaborations with the big players of the fashion world (Comme des garcons and Takeo Kikuchi). Spingle Move arrived in France in the month of September. Its distribution is entrusted to the Monderer Group which operates the shoe corners in Printemps, Galeries Lafayette and Citadium.

In five years, in the big Chinese cities, the sale of fashion products has tripled. Lastly, the countries of Asia are the new export Eldorados for de luxe French groups. Hermès has just opened a new shop in Taipei and is planning a new opening in Macao by the end of the year. In August LVMH opened its biggest Louis Vuitton shop in Southeast Asia in Singapore.

For the first time, Lingerie Française, a prestigious international promotion group, is keen to be at the Shanghai Mode Lingerie event from 19th to 20th October. The Chantelle, Passionata, Gerbe, Aubade, Lise Charmel and Simone Perele brands will be there.

The only black cloud in this boom period for Asian design: the Japanese Yohji Yamamoto fashion house, founded in 1972, has filed for bankruptcy protection at the Federal Court of Tokyo.