I've opened a few British store promotions over the years, but never before under a flyover on a busy main road. But then the Aoki British fair is breaking new ground in other ways too. It's the first time a high street menswear retail chain in Japan has staged a British fair; the first time a British store promotion has taken place over such an extended period - over a month; and the first time it's covered so many locations - over 100 stores the length and breadth of Japan. They also managed to choose the first sub-25 degrees day of the autumn for the grand opening at their Ginza store in central Tokyo, perfect timing to catch shoppers making the switchover from their summer wardrobes.
Aoki have also gone beyond the usual approach of simply importing a range of British goods (although there is a good range of accessories on sale from Simon Carter, Elizabeth Barker, Jeff Banks and others). The promotion's real genius lies in using British design and British fabrics to create a range of products made in Japan with the particular needs and tastes of its core target market in mind - the Japanese "salaryman". Every year Aoki, Japan's second-largest menswear retailer, sells 1 million suits to these hardworking pillars of the Japanese economy. This autumn a good proportion of those suits flying off the rails will have been made from the half a million pounds worth of fabrics they've imported from the UK and fashioned into a whole series of sharp yet classic - and above all affordable - designs.
Star of the show for me were the beautifully crafted shirts designed by David Keech of Keech Design , with a host of distinctively British detailing, including tartan-effect trim and playful little Union Jack collar and cuff buttons. Sounds a bit naff when I describe them like that, but they're very subtle and I'd say set to become a design icon among the younger members of Japan's business workforce. This collaboration came about as a direct result of David's participation in a UKTI design mission to Japan and a contact made at the mission reception at the British Embassy with local businessman and former UKTI export promoter Saleem d'Aronville. David has a long association with Japan, dating back to his time as the only non-Japanese member of Yamaha's design team, and it's clear that he relished this opportunity to bring his designs to a truly mass market.
I was pleased to become the first customer for one of these eminently desirable shirts - thus marking the earliest start I've ever made on my Christmas shopping. Hope my son doesn't spoil his surprise by reading this blog!
Sue Kinoshita
UKTI Japan