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Out of all these cities, which one do you think is the most fashion-conscious one?
Of course you might argue that styles vary across each cities so its difficult to compare but in the general sense of the word, which city does its people tend to take pride in their dressing and style?
I wouldn't go as far as to say that these three cities are fashion-forward.
LA might have a huge celebrity culture thing going on but it doesn't mean that the average people there bother to dress up. During those times I was there, casual wear like plain jeans and tee shirts seems to be the norm.
Similarly, the same thing applies to Monte Carlo and Sydney which represent a gambling and business hub respectively.
Seoul certainly should be on any list of fashion conscious cities from my experience. If it was on there It would get my vote. Of the list I suppose Hong Kong. Without trying to stereotype too much, It just seems that North East Asians generally are more fashion conscious than Australians and Europeans.
I have never been to North America, so are unable to comment.
Seoul certainly should be on any list of fashion conscious cities from my experience. If it was on there It would get my vote. Of the list I suppose Hong Kong. Without trying to stereotype too much, It just seems that North East Asians generally are more fashion conscious than Australians and Europeans.
I don't deny that Koreans are pretty fashion conscious. But when I was in Seoul, people seem to be dressed in the same kind of style everywhere I went (just like plastic surgery). Their fashion sense did not come across as varied and interesting as say, Hong Kong and Tokyo.
Tokyo, by far. For such a uniquely mono-ethnic city the resultant subcultures that naturally upend it are endless. Tokyo, and to a lesser extent London are where the big shot designers go to get 'inspiration' from the the street styles the kids are wearing these days.
For London they have a turnaround from design-to-store of 4 weeks, thanks to easy access to sweatshops in Eastern Europe and former Empire links to Bangladesh. In other cities the range changes every 3 months, hence the 'seasons' of Autumn/ Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer, whilst in London the range in the High Street chains changes monthly, propped up by strong sales -women spend about $2500, and men $1200 a year on new clothes, way above the EU or US averages. Even despite the economic downturn people prefer to cut down on food than on clothing.
This allows the buyers to take much more risks, employing local and student designers. Thus what you see in street-style very quickly becomes across-the-board commercial within a few weeks. This can have it's pitfalls, for example at some stage in 2008 the only clothing you could buy was retro Eighties, across the board. The 'London look' is often branded as fearless - it can also be disastrously loud. But one has to say, it's far more daring than the numbers across the channel where the Parisians splurge out on a few designer items and wear it with style - but are resolutely more conservatively dressed - dare I say it- bland, though elegant.
For Tokyo the 4 week turnover is halved, thanks to it's proximity to factory China. Just as high spending and the added adage of 'self-style' in the culture that allows people to come up with as crazy, bland or individualised looks as one likes rather than just following the trends. Whereas in London people constantly follow the teenagers trends (where almost every fashion 'movement' ultimately starts), in Tokyo people come up with their own regardless of what the teenagers are creating. Also whilst London employs local designers and students, Tokyo actively headhunts it's shoppers, with some stores watching out for repeat offendors / spenders, usually teenage girls, and inviting them to design a range of the New Ugly.
In short, London is full of hipsters - a term that's obsolete in the city as most young people dress that way, from the estates to the boarding schools (and regardless of whether they have an undying interest in the Korean New Wave or Pop Idol 2014). Head out of the tourist/ business centre and you'll see it everywhere:
whilst Tokyoites wear whatever the hell they want... a tradition dating back to the 80s that pretty much started the global 'hipster' movement of today.
In a way the 'self style' element is only really made acceptable in Tokyo due to it's enormous size. The anonymity accorded in a city of 39 million makes it far easier to start such a 'movement', back in the early 90s.
I don't deny that Koreans are pretty fashion conscious. But when I was in Seoul, people seem to be dressed in the same kind of style everywhere I went (just like plastic surgery). Their fashion sense did not come across as varied and interesting as say, Hong Kong and Tokyo.
Well i have never been to Tokyo, I knew they were fashion crazy, but had never seen it first hand. Still I think they are more so in Seoul than London and that is from the personal experience of living in both.
Fashion in London is "fun and games", in Paris it is deadly serious business with a pretentious twist.
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