In Deluxe: How Luxury Lost It’s Luster, Dana Thomas follows the dilution of high-end brands into mass-produced logos and streetside knock-offs. Jaded fashionistas, sick of paying top dollar for poor quality, are now driving a backlash antilabel trend. Just look to Tokyo’s young denimheads or the design snobs buzzing about “no brand” retailer Muji’s Stateside opening.
Tucked beside Hinoya’s fish markets are tiny boutiques that sell minimalist jeans, and youth in Tokyo are willing to spend hours trolling for the perfect pair. Japan’s high-quality, raw denim lines like Takumi, Sugar Cane, or Oni often issue limited edition styles—inspiring cults of discerning young men looking for a touch of artisanal individuality in a world dominated by corporate luxury. These are the guys who’ll rhapsodize about the button fly on a vintage pair of Levis 501s from 1955. They take pride in wearing an extremely high-quality garment with heavy-weight cotton, natural indigo dyes, and subtle stitching—details that would appear inconspicuous and even generic to the untrained eye. And with price points from $200 to upwards of $1000, they are willing to pay for plain.
The antilabel design ethos has been ignored by many retailers, who seek to extend their brand through logos, particularly luxury behemoths such as LVMH or Gucci Group. Yet, the concept of functional design has spurred a selvedge jean craze for Evisu and APC, inspired Hedi Slimane’s infamous Dior Homme skinnies, and even trickled down to the masses, causing retailers to chuck Paris Hilton’s highly-embellished Antiks for the clean lines of Cheap Monday, Acne, and J Brand (Angelina’s perennial fave).
Practical minimalism will hit New York full-force this fall when Muji, purveyor of Platonic housewares, furniture, and clothing, opens in Soho (a midtown flagship is due next year). Muji’s unbranded products are made not only to be perfectly functional, but instinctually useful. Naoto Fukusawa, one of the design luminaries who consults for the company, believes that, “You shouldn’t need to use an instruction manual to learn how to use a product. It should be so intuitive that you work it out naturally.” Muji reduces an object to its essence. Its storage drawers are made from a practical transparent acrylic and its cutting board is a block of natural wood, with no grooves or handles to complicate cleaning. A fat porcelain teapot and gently curved steel flatware from Muji’s kitchenware line invite a cradling hand.
The company’s “Lower priced for a reason” credo rejects waste and added function as a marketing tool. Muji products avoid the trap of extra gizmos or “updated” designs that simply inflate prices and advertising copy. The concept of brand culture has so pervaded marketing and PR these days, that perhaps certain consumers crave anonymity or a chance to define themselves (and “their culture”) free from the products they use. What girl wants to be a walking billboard, dwarfed by the corporate logo on her shirt?
—Sherrie Hui
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