TIC | 株式会社東京コンサルティング研究所

The Shrinking Lolita Fashion Market In Japan Has Business Opportunities In China.

Lolita fashion, which was common in Shinjuku and Harajuku more than a decade ago, is now almost extinct. Shinjuku Marui ONE, which sell lots of the Lolita brands, was closed on September 25, 2013. “KERA,” a monthly magazine based in Lolita fashion, stopped publishing print magazines after the June 15, 2017 issue, and released only electronic versions. KERA’s sister magazine, “Gothic & Lolita Bible”, which is scheduled to be released on May 24, 2017, has also been cancelled. There are several reasons why Lolita fashion has declined in Japan. First, the so-called “meeting place” disappeared. In the past, there were fewer places to sit and chat like the clearing in front of the gap. Second, Harajuku Fashion is in decline. Harajuku changed from “the streets of the young people” to “adult streets”, and Lolita’s most popular place Takeshita Street has become a tourist destination for foreign tourists. Third, the first generation of Lolita fashion girls got married and went to job, they can no longer continue Lolita fashion. At the same time, the younger generation in Japan cannot offer much money and time on Lolita fashion as the first generation. Lolita is in decline in Japan while rising in China. There are many Chinese students who come to study in Japan because love of Lolita fashion. Recently Lolita fashion girls speaking Chinese can be seen frequently in Shinjuku, Harajuku. Lolita fashion popular in China for the following reasons: Firstly, China’s women fashion was cared about the surrounding views before but today’s China women who effected by global fashion want to show individual character through the clothes fashion. Lolita’s fashion style satisfies this demand and popular among young people. Second, Japan’s ACG culture (animation, manga, games and other subcultures) is well-known all-around China. Besides first-tier cities like Shanghai and Beijing, girls in Lolita dress can also be seen on the streets in second-tier cities such as Wuhan and Hangzhou. With the development of economy, the increase of personal income makes Chinese people have certain economic ability to purchase expensive Lolita clothes. Therefore, Japanese Lolita brand should spare no effort on exploring Chinese market while Japanese market is shrinking. The TIC’s new group, TOKYO business bridge (TBB), supports Japanese companies exploring market in China (Dalian).