On April 18, the 2024 “Luxe.CO Fashion Innovation and Investment Forum” was successfully held in Shanghai. Entrepreneurs, executives, and investors from financial and industrial investment institutions, brand startups, brand conglomerates, and internet technology giants from home and abroad gathered to share their practical experiences and insights from different perspectives. They deeply discussed how to delve into the fashion industry and truly discover and create value in the current complex and ever-changing socio-economic environment, combining their insights into the development status and prospects of the fashion industry in China and abroad.
In the final segment of the forum, Luxe.CO invited three distinctive overseas fashion brands to share their experiences remotely via video. These are divided into three articles featuring each brand. Do check out the other articles for more details!
Danish Designer Brand Rue De Tokyo
In 2016, Swedish fashion designer David Andersson Sahlin founded Rue De Tokyo in Copenhagen, Denmark. Rue De Tokyo combines Japanese attention to detail with French commitment to craftsmanship and respect for art, focusing on fabrics, silhouettes, and colors, embracing quiet beauty, ultimate design, and comfort.
Rue De Tokyo Founder David Andersson Sahlin:
“Hello, I am David Andersson Sahlin, the founder and creative director of Rue De Tokyo. I grew up in the Swedish countryside, in a creative environment where my mother was an artist and my father was an antique collector. After graduating at 18, I decided to move abroad, living in cities such as Oslo, Florence, Paris, and Stockholm. Now, I reside in Copenhagen, which is also the headquarters of Rue De Tokyo.
The idea to create Rue De Tokyo came during my time in Paris. At that time, I was a fabric researcher for a small luxury company and met my Japanese friend Yui Shomen, who developed fabrics for top brands like Chanel and Prada. During our time in Paris, we discussed various creative ideas, different paths for brand development, and the idea of creating a brand using the world’s best textiles. The challenge in starting a brand is finding a unique selling point and the reason for its existence. We believed in the longevity and uniqueness of textiles and fabrics to differentiate us. Thus, Rue De Tokyo started with a series of knitwear made from Japanese fabrics and has since grown significantly.
From the beginning, we were fortunate to gain the favor of some Chinese buyers, entering stores like Lane Crawford and The Balancing in Shanghai. Until the pandemic, we maintained good growth momentum and established solid business relationships with Far Eastern buyers. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, communication, logistics, and marketing became difficult, marking one of the challenging periods for the brand. Fortunately, we have now overcome that period and see more opportunities to develop business in the Far East.
The brand’s design aesthetics stem from its name, Rue De Tokyo, a French name with ‘Tokyo’ indicating the use of many Japanese fabrics. The brand draws inspiration from French style and Parisian life, while also incorporating Scandinavian style, given my Swedish heritage and the brand’s Copenhagen headquarters.
Regarding the brand’s core products, we prioritize fabrics. We really enjoy using woven fabrics, finding truly unique materials in this category. We use luxury brands’ deadstock fabrics, numbering each product to ensure that new products are very limited, helping store sales. Customers may see a jacket produced in only 30 or 50 pieces, which will not be produced again. One of Rue De Tokyo’s competitive advantages and opportunities lies in offering high-quality products at competitive prices, with good fabric suppliers and continuous innovation and development, focusing on both past and future to provide unique designs.
Rue De Tokyo mainly sells in Europe, with several important markets. The brand is strong in its home Scandinavian market in Denmark and has entered the Italian and Belgian markets through some agents. Rue De Tokyo also collaborates with global department stores and chain retailers. From the beginning, we cooperated with Lane Crawford in Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong, Galeries Lafayette, and Canadian fashion e-commerce SSENSE. Thus, the brand is distributed globally, with a focus on key markets.
Now our goal is to ‘go out’ again and showcase the Rue De Tokyo brand worldwide. In the Chinese market, the brand will start selling in Beijing this fall and already has several sales points in Hong Kong. China is definitely a market we want to expand further. I see many opportunities for our products in the Chinese market, and I am confident the brand will succeed.
Sustainability is an important theme for Rue De Tokyo. We are working on corporate social responsibility, ensuring our chosen factories have good working environments. Most of our products use eco-cotton, deadstock fabrics, natural fibers, and recycled fibers. For me, the most important thing is to provide sustainable, repeatable, long-lasting products. Seeing our products used for many seasons or in second-hand stores makes me happy. Product quality comes first, and I am proud we can provide such products.”
丨Image and Video Credit: Provided by brand
丨Editor: Maier
