P6| PURSUITS OTHEGLOBEANDMAIL | SATURDAY,FEBRUARY22,2020W
hen the global fast-fash-
ion revolution arrived on
Canadian soil in the early
2000s, it was met with a rush of
excitement as shoppers, includ-
ing me, flocked to malls to score
bags of trendy clothing at hither-
to unheard-of low prices. But
those carefree days are officially
gone. Given the growing aware-
ness of the fashion industry’s
pollution problem coupled with
the fact that excess clothing
winds up in landfills or is burned
by the tonne, having a fun little
fling at a mass retailer is now a
full-on environmental hazard.
When the price is low, common
thought is that the item is cheap
and disposable, qualities that are
increasingly undesirable as evi-
denced by Forever 21’s recent
bankruptcy.
Despite all of this, Japan’s Un-
iqlo has found a way to reach themasses without attracting the
stigma of being mass. The key to
its success lies in its ability to re-
define what it means for a fash-
ion item to be relevant. For Uniq-
lo, relevancy is not solely defined
by an item being on trend, but by
its value and usefulness, two
characteristics typically lacking
at most fast-fashion stores. It’s a
radical approach to product de-
velopment that’s changing the
way shoppers think about what’s
in their closets while sparing Un-
iqlo the reputation that’s some-
times associated with mass-pro-
duced clothing.
Uniqlo has more than 2,000
stores in 23 markets, including 13
retail outlets in Canada. Founded
in Hiroshima in 1984 by Tadashi
Yanai, the president and chief ex-
ecutive of its parent company
Fast Retailing (currently valued
at US$21.53-billion), Uniqlo isknown for its affordable mix-
and-match seasonal basics. Yanai
is quick to point out that, con-
trary to the price tags at his
stores, he’s not in the business of
making cheap clothing. “If you
say accessibility, people think of
mass production therefore a
trade-off where the quality
would have to be compromised,”
Yanai says. “We want to offer the
very best quality for everyone.”
A big part of this quality lies in
Uniqlo’s appreciation of design.
The brand regularly collaborates
with fashion personalities from
around the globe, including
Northern Irish designer JW An-
derson, French fashionista Ines
de la Fressange, British designer
and blogger Hana Tajima and
Christophe Lemaire, the former
artistic director of luxury fashion
house Hermès. Unlike other
high-profile fashion collabora-
tions, the pieces by Uniqlo’s part-
ners are not instantly recogniz-
able. For Vancouver-based stylist
Leila Bani, this discretion is part
of the appeal. “It’s not necessar-
ily a screaming piece. It’s just
great design at an accessible
price,” she says.
Instead of chasing trends, Un-
iqlo focuses on innovations in
materials, developing new fab-rics such as those made of recy-
cled down and PET bottles cre-
ated through a partnership with
Toray, the materials company
known for making carbon fibre
for aerospace manufacturer
SpaceX. According to the State of
Fashion 2020 Report produced
by Business of Fashion and
McKinsey & Co., the materials
revolution is a key industry
theme for 2020. Leaders in this
space will offer more sustainable
substitutes and high-tech op-
tions that combine style and
function – something Uniqlo is
delivering at accessible price
points.
Beyond these continuing in-
novations in textiles, a key differ-
entiator for the retailer is Life-
Wear, its uniquely created cate-
gory of clothing.
“LifeWear is something that
sits on top that’s not business
wear, not athletic wear, not
home wear, not lounge wear.
We’re trying to take away those
traditional silos, so our expecta-
tion is to be relevant to a greater
number of people,” says John
Jay, Fast Retailing’s president of
global creative, describing this
category, one that keeps Uniqlo –
and its clients – from falling vic-
tim to fads.“They really have the basics
nailed,” Bani says.
All of this has resonated with
Canadian shoppers, such as
those who queued up for the
opening of Uniqlo’s first store in
Calgary in September. Quebec’s
first store is set to open in Mon-
treal later this year. “There’s
something about [Uniqlo] that
makes me feel empowered about
what I’m buying,” says Katherine
Flemming, a writer and mother
of two living in Thornhill, Ont.,
who made a resolution to quit
her habit of impulse buying at
fast-fashion stores last year. “I
don’t get out of control because
there’s no crazy trends there that
I feel like I need to adopt.”
If sales are any indication,
Flemming’s sense of approval is
shared by millions. Last year, Un-
iqlo surpassed H&M to become
the second biggest fashion retail-
er in the world by revenue. In the
lead is Spain’s Inditex, which
owns Zara among other brands.
As consumer mentality con-
tinues to shift, the future direc-
tion of the fashion industry is
anything but certain. By forging
its own path, Uniqlo is well posi-
tioned to weather the change.Special to The Globe and MailForthemasses
Japan’sUniqlodeliversaffordableclothing
butsomehowescapesthefast-fashionlabel.
CaitlinAgnewreportsonwhatthis
retailerisdoingdifferentlyO
n a vacation in Italy a few
years ago, my mother and
sister were unleashed on
the leather markets of Florence,
euros at the ready should the fain-
test temptation arise in the form
of a wallet, purse or some other
treasure. I, on the other hand, was
rolling my eyes while holding
their bags as they ransacked the
stalls. Really, I wanted to ditch
them and go to the Uffizi gallery
or do anything that didn’t involve
acquiring more trinkets. My
mother, flummoxed, asked, “You
really don’t like to shop any more,
do you?”
As a self-professed mall rat in
my youth, I’d often spend my
whole allowance on a purchase at
the accessory store Claire’s. And
later, as I became more seriously
interested in fashion and started
working toward a career in maga-
zines, I’d pinch pennies to invest
in designer pieces. I still remem-
ber the day I bought my first pair
of on-sale Miu Miu heels and
squealed the whole subway ride
home. Shopping was always excit-
ing. It was something to do with
friends, but it was also a way to ex-
press my developing sense of self.
So where did my apathy come
from? I’d chalk it up to shopping
feeling more like a bore than a
special experience, especially
when it comes to the monotony of
what’s actually available to buy at
accessible price points. The de-
signer pieces I’m drawn to are
usually outlandish (a one-shoul-
dered, iridescent aqua bodysuit
by the Danish brand Saks Potts
was a rare recent instance of
something catching my eye). Butgiven that I mostly work from
home in leggings, that kind of
purchase is impossible to justify.
I’m not the only fashion profes-
sional who has become disinter-
ested in shopping. Lauren Sher-
man, the executive editor at the
website Business of Fashion in
New York, recently self-imposed a
ban on buying anything new in- “I was buying the same grey
sweater 15 times and it just started
to feel less satisfying,” she says.
“All the stuff I buy is inspired by
old Geoffrey Beene or Helmut
Lang, so why don’t I just spend
this year finding those original
pieces?”
A couple of editors losing their
shopping mojo can’t be blamed
for all the retail industry’s trials
and tribulations. But there’s no
question, the changing habits of
people who once loved to do seri-
ous retail damage is part of the
disruption. The rise of e-com-
merce, more awareness about
sustainability, smaller homes
with smaller closets, the inconsis-
tency of the gig economy and a
millennial shift toward spending
disposable income on travel and
wellness are all affecting how we
view consumption.
As a result, brands are com-
pletely rethinking their retail
model to lure shoppers, such as
me, back, often with a focus on en-
tertaining their patrons. “I think
especially for the younger gener-
ations, people are looking for a
unique experience,” says Eileen
Halpin-Tarrant, a Toronto-based
retail expert. As president of
Oberfeld Snowcap Advisory Ser-
vices, Halpin-Tarrant works with
retailers to secure leases on a va-
riety of locations, many of which
are becoming showrooms rather
than shops.
Malls have seen the most dras-
tic change in the past decade.
“We’ve seen shopping centres
that once would have had mostly
fashion as their draw and biggest
percentage of retail space, con-
verting to less apparel and more
entertainment and restaurants as
ways to increase dwell time in-
side,” Halpin-Tarrant says. Essen-
tially: Come for the food, stay for
the shopping, which is the tactic
that American Dream, a new en-
tertainment and retail megacom-
plex in East Rutherford, N.J., is
banking on. Developed by the
group that owns and operates
West Edmonton Mall, American
Dream brings together a Nickel-
odeon indoor theme park, a
DreamWorks water park and an
indoor ski park with 350 stores in-
cluding high-end brands such as
Hermès, Moncler and Tiffany &
Co. “We believe that consumers
still want the brick-and-mortar
experiences, but not in the tradi-
tional sense,” says Don Gherme-
zian, American Dream’s chief ex-
ecutive. “Retail cannot exist in to-
day’s environment without enter-
tainment.”
Entertainment isn’t the final
word, though. “I think the biggest
problem with multibrand luxury
retail is a lack of differentiated
product,” Sherman says.“You
might differentiate the experi-
ence, but if the product isn’t dif-
ferentiated, people can just look
on their phone and find a better
deal.”For small business owners who
might not want to build a water
slide down the centre of their
boutiques, creating that sense of
discovery often involves focusing
on exclusive products and instal-
lations. Danielle Suppa, who
owns the Toronto design shop
Souvenir, curates her store’s
wares specifically with that in
mind.
“We deliver an experience that
is constantly changing and never
duplicated,” she says. “A lot of the
stuff we carry is never going to be
seen again.”
Suppa commissions one-of-a-
kind ceramics and jewellery from
local artisans to showcase along-
side rotating art exhibitions that
are curated seasonally. “I can keepevolving the store, while increas-
ing the impetus to buy,” she says.
A few months ago, while on a
trip to New York, I visited Café For-
got, a pop up that showcases
emerging and unknown talents.
As I perused the wild selection of
iridescent cat sculptures and bags
beaded in the style of early-2000s
screensavers, I came across a rare,
wacky temptation: a vintage bus-
tier, re-imagined by designer Mar-
tina Cox with strips of pink fringe
and floral upholstery. If I had to
describe what led to me to finally
drop $200 on the piece – and
what’s missing from the shopping
experience today – I think it’s
called, the thrill of the find.SpecialtoTheGlobeandMailshopping mall
dropout
Examiningherownconsumptionhabits,RandiBergmanwonders
whereherloveofshoppingwent–andlooksattheways
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