Zoo Jeans

From Japan Today:

A zoo in Ibaraki Prefecture has taken the catwalk to a wild new level, using some of its fiercest inhabitants to rip and claw jeans to a fashionably distressed look.

The facility in Kamine has unveiled “Zoo Jeans”, styled by the fangs and claws of lions, tigers and bears.

Zoo officials said the material held up well, all things considered.

“We wrapped several pieces of denim around tires and other toys. Once they were thrown into the enclosures, the animals jumped on them,” said zoo director Nobutaka Namae, adding that the pieces were later patched together to create the finished product.

“The denim was actually much tougher than we had thought, and it turned out nicely destroyed.”

The idea came from a Tokyo advertising executive who wanted to give something back to the zoo where he spent time as a child, Namae added.

Two pairs of jeans ripped by lions and a tiger-destroyed version are being auctioned on the Internet with proceeds to be donated to the zoo and the conservation group WWF.

As of Monday, bidding on the tiger-torn denim had soared to ¥121,000 (about US$1,191).

They will be on exhibit at the Kamine Zoo—along with a bear-savaged version—until next week.

Forever 21

I’m not really interested in fashion brands. I’m especially unfamiliar with the latest brands in other countries (outside Japan).

But I heard on the TV news today about a clothing store in America called Forever 21.

Do you know this store? Do you shop there?

First of all, it seems that Forever 21 has a clothing line titled “Shibuya Mon Amour“.
It’s supposedly a cross between Tokyo fashion and French fashion. (Shibuya is a part of Tokyo popular with young people).

I was surprised by that! Is 渋谷 (Shibuya, Tokyo) famous overseas?
Before I came to Japan, I had never heard of Shibuya, Akihabara, Roppongi, or any other sections of Tokyo (I came to Japan in 1990. Before the internet. So it was a different world back then).

I also heard that the American pop singer Gwen Stefani loves the 原宿 (Harajuku) section of Tokyo, which is popular with a different group of young people that those who like 渋谷 (Shibuya).
There are “Harajuku girls” and “Shibuya girls” in Tokyo. Even though those two areas are close to each other, the fashion of each is quite different from the other. That singer, Gwen Stefani, calls her back-up dancers “Harajuku Girls”.

Anyways, the reason that the American clothing store chain “Forever 21” was on the news in Japan today isn’t because of their “Shibuya Mon Amour” line…it’s because they opened their first store in Japan today.
It’s in the 原宿 (Harajuku) section of Tokyo.

Whenever a new store opens in Japan, they almost always have a big “Grand Opening Sale”…which results in a crowd of customers waiting to get in even before the store opens.

Here’s a picture of the crowd that was waiting to get into the Forever 21 Tokyo store today for their Grand Opening sale:

Grand Opening of "Forever 21" in Tokyo.