Hanae Mori's new line, HANAE MORI manuscrit, launched in 2014, is making its debut exclusively at the Isetan Shinjuku store. A limited-time pop-up store will be set up on the fourth floor of the main building from September 16th to 22nd, and orders will be accepted through a semi-custom order system using an original digital design application.

The brand has welcomed designer Yu Amano, active in Tokyo Collection, to target a new demographic. As customer demographics change, so too does the demand for ready-to-wear. Furthermore, legal reforms have led to an increase in the number of women working in managerial and other senior positions. The brand aims to offer high-quality, sophisticated clothing for young women in their 40s and 50s. For the launch, the brand carefully considered the price range and balance of items, and paid particular attention to the content, including brightening nuanced colors. The order system adopted for the pop-up store's opening uses the "DIGITAL COUTURE HANAE MORI x DIGITAL FASHION LTD." application, developed in collaboration with Digital Fashion Co., Ltd. This "next-generation couture system" allows customers to freely choose from the brand's original prints and patterns, pre-digitized on iPads in the store, and create designs tailored to their tastes, creating one-of-a-kind pieces. Customers can also use their fingers on the iPad to resize the print, fine-tuning the size and angle, and moving and freezing the on-screen avatar wearing the garment to view the design from various angles. Orders are expected to arrive approximately one and a half months after ordering. Orders are accepted for five items: two dresses (silk, ¥180,000; satin, ¥120,000), two blouses (silk, ¥70,000; cotton, ¥65,000), and one pair of pants (¥95,000). Five graphic patterns are available.

"As Japan's first haute couture brand, Hanae Mori has always been innovative. We wanted to incorporate something that suited the current era, which is why we adopted an app-based ordering system. We live in an age where clothes can be easily purchased online, but we want to use the app to make suggestions to customers while interacting with them in-store. We hope that customers can experience the intersection of digital and couture firsthand," said a brand representative.

We have entered an era where designs imagined on a screen can be brought to life by combining digital technology and analog techniques. It is particularly moving that Hanae Mori's new line, a brand with such a long history in the fashion world, was one of the first to embark on this hybrid initiative.