A women's clothing department has been created where all the model mannequins are facing backwards.
"BACK SCHOEN BEUTY," which launched on March 4th on the 4th floor of the Isetan Shinjuku Main Building, focuses on the impression of a woman's back and is a campaign featuring 80 models from 19 brands (76 of which are exclusive to Isetan Mitsukoshi) as part of the company's original ONLY MI project. The same project also launched on the same day at the Mitsukoshi Nihonbashi and Ginza stores, where mannequins are also facing backwards.
"Back-shan" is a Showa-era catchphrase coined from the words "back" (meaning "behind") and "shan" (meaning "beautiful" in German). The reason Isetan Mitsukoshi launched this MI project is that, with the increasing participation of women in society, the middle generation, with their high disposable income and high sensitivity, are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of impression management in official and social settings. Based on the idea that there is a potential market for women who check out the back and other parts of their body that are not visible, the company has jointly developed "Backless Beauty" items with the domestic apparel brand Elegance Market, which the company handles.

"Backless Beauty" items are characterized by three main elements: 1. pattern, 2. silhouette, and 3. design (details). These include dresses and blouses with large prints on the back, dresses that show off beautiful drapes on the back, and dresses with zip-up back designs. Furthermore, many items have more processes than usual, such as jackets with more panels at the back to increase the number of pieces, shirring at the seams to make the waist look slimmer, and backs made of transparent materials such as lace, chiffon, and opal processing, and are priced slightly higher than the average price range of each brand. "The Only MI project aims to attract new customers, and we've previously proposed trip dresses for business trips, and last season's dress-on-dress project, which featured dresses to wear over other dresses for after-office formal and social occasions, was well-received. This time's 'backless' design is based on the cultural background of the Japanese concept of a beautiful woman looking back, and we hope that this different approach from the traditional 'frontless' design will attract new customers," says the buyer in charge.

Major brands participating in this project include Aquascutum, Amaka, Anteprima, Epoca, Jiyuku, Synchro Crossings, Scapa, Daks, WB, Harrods, Filo di Seta, Franco Ferraro, Blanc Rubier, Berardi, Paul Stuart, Moga, Modify, Yumakoshino, and Leonard (*Brands may vary by store).