Are Smartphones Ruining Japanese Fashion Culture!?

I'm Asai, a member of Dentsu Inc. Smart Plus who loves clothes more than three square meals a day. This time's theme is "Fashion and Smartphones."

I firmly believe "clothes have the power to make people happy." Dressing stylishly can make people more positive and self-assured. How has the proliferation of smartphones changed how we Japanese approach fashion? How should the fashion industry engage with smartphones?

As smartphones become increasingly prevalent as devices for gathering information and making purchases, the fashion industry is experiencing significant impact. Now more than ever, I want to explore the relationship between fashion and smartphones.

1.Fashion is a culture of "Shu-Ha-Ri"

Before diving into the analysis, allow me to briefly introduce a philosophical concept.

In the worlds of Japanese tea ceremony and martial arts, there is an ancient concept called "Shu-Ha-Ri." It involves faithfully learning the "form" taught by a master, then breaking away from that "form," and finally developing your own unique "form." This allows one to transcend the concept of "form" and achieve freedom. I believe this concept also applies to fashion.

Think back to a time before smartphones were so widespread. When it came to fashion, we got information about what items were trending or what looks were cool from magazines or friends. Based on that information, we'd typically go to the store, try things on, see if they suited us, and then buy them. During this purchasing process, we were undoubtedly conscious of the fashion "forms" we'd learned from magazines or friends. We'd think about those "forms" in our own way and ultimately find the "form" that suited us.

Then, through trial and error—like changing colors or item combinations from the "style" we referenced, or fusing one "style" with another—a new "style" never seen before was born.

Fashion thus evolved by gradually updating these "styles" to become more personal, and Japanese fashion culture is now recognized worldwide, standing shoulder to shoulder with Paris, Milan, and London.

2.Are smartphones ruining Japanese fashion culture!?

I believe Japanese fashion culture, especially Tokyo's, has the potential to become globally competitive export content, standing alongside anime and film as a unique culture.

However, I sense a risk that the rapid proliferation of smartphones in recent years could stagnate Japanese fashion culture. I'll examine the reasons from two perspectives.

First, the proliferation of smartphones has led to an explosive increase in fashion-related information. This surge in information has also dramatically multiplied the number of fashion "templates" available for reference. While this diversity is positive for fashion, the sheer volume of template choices seems to have left today's youth unsure of which template to adopt as their own foundation.

Second, smartphones now allow us to instantly purchase clothes and accessories anytime, anywhere. While this immediacy is undeniably convenient, it has cost us the time needed to consider whether an item truly suits us or if we genuinely wanted it in the first place.
Thus, the increased information volume and immediacy brought by smartphone proliferation have made it difficult for young people—who should be leading future fashion culture—to think critically about "styles." They simply mimic whatever outfit they happen to see, feeling vaguely satisfied. When bored, they move on to mimic another commonly seen style around them. In other words, while they unconsciously mimic others' "styles," they haven't reached the stage of evolving their own unique style.

So, how should the fashion industry engage with smartphones?

3.Smartphones as a Catalyst for Fashion Culture

I believe future fashion apps and e-commerce sites need the power to stimulate young people's fashion imagination. They should create an environment where young people spontaneously think about fashion and feel inspired to create their own new "patterns."

There are two key points for achieving this.

First, help them recognize "styles." Assist them in finding their own fashion role models. When I was in high school, I was struck by the style of a salesperson at a certain French boutique featured in a fashion magazine (I hope to meet them someday!). To this day, I still consider that style one of my personal benchmarks, my "style." I was fortunate to encounter a "style" I wanted to master. But today, with smartphones ubiquitous, imagine this: you snap a photo of an outfit or item that catches your eye in a store and post it. Registered shop staff or other fashion-savvy users could then offer advice on that look or item. Or perhaps there could be community sites compiling theories like "Wear this item this way to look stylish." While enjoying the process of gaining fashion information, we provide young people with a place to learn these "templates" – starting points that show them how to look cool or cute with near certainty. If smartphone-generation youth gain success experiences by consciously imitating these "templates," they'll discover the joy of fashion and develop a desire to improve their style.

The second is supporting them in breaking the "templates." It's about making them feel that there might be ways to express their true selves more through their current style, or to create a different version of themselves. For example, wouldn't it be great to have an app where you take photos of your daily outfits with your smartphone, jot down your feelings when choosing those clothes, and record them as a life log? Then, analyzing that log data, the day's weather, and fashion trends circulating on social media at that time, it could suggest new outfit combinations or items every day. Furthermore, while apps like digital closets that let you register your existing wardrobe already exist, it would be great to see services emerge where your registered clothing database links with e-commerce sites. These could then find and recommend new colors or styles of clothing not in your closet, sourced directly from the site. Creating a system where your closet database functions as a data platform for various fashion e-commerce sites is also a challenge worth pursuing.

The fashion industry's adaptation to the smartphone era is still in its infancy. While various services will undoubtedly emerge, I believe we need mechanisms and initiatives that go beyond mere information dissemination—ones that engage Japanese youth and ignite their passion for style.

I also want to keep buying lots of clothes (lol) while exploring more possibilities for smartphones in the fashion realm, hoping to contribute to both Japanese fashion culture and smartphone development.