Isetan Mitsukoshi began selling randoseru (school backpacks) in July. Starting this year, Isetan Shinjuku, which has been designing and selling all of its randoseru products, will add 27 new styles to the 10 already available in stores starting August 6th. Collaborations with designer brands, a focus of attention since last year, are once again garnering attention this year. Children's clothing brand Kokichika and long-established bag manufacturer Okyo Seikaban propose a new standard for randoseru, combining craftsmanship with modern design. Burgundy and gray join the five popular colors from last year—black, green, camel, red, and navy—exclusively at the Shinjuku store and online. Priced at ¥75,600. The collaboration with Italian bag brand Orobianco features an original embossed cover, metal plate, and striped back print. It was designed by founder Giacomo Valentini as the randoseru he would want for his own child. It comes in four colors: black, blue, pink, and yellow, and is priced at 75,600 yen.
From Mitsukoshi Isetan's original brand, "velnica," comes a school bag that's perfect for girls, featuring swan embroidery on the side, matte gold hardware, and a decorative belt. It comes in three colors: camel x pink beige, pink beige x pink, and pink x camel. The price is 68,040 yen. (Please note that this product is already sold out.)
Other girly designs include the "Promo Style School Bag" (59,400 yen), designed by school bag designer Yoko Morita, with its cute two-tone design of pink, light blue, and camel, and the "Cut Lace School Bag" (69,120 yen), which features a special double-layered flap that creates the illusion of cut lace. Another popular item is the unique "Cosmo Girl School Bag" (68,040 yen), with its silver flap and embroidery depicting the "orbits of the planets."
For boys, products that are attracting attention include the "Rock Style Special Randoseru" (61,560 yen) with studs on the cover and belt, the "United Randoseru" (64,800 yen) with a British emblem patch on the side, and the "Art Face Randoseru" with an embossed dot pattern visible through holes in the cover and an artistic checkered pattern on the inside of the cover.
Last year, Isetan Shinjuku sold 3,000 randoseru. This year, they are aiming to sell 3,500.
