This year is gonna be very exciting to me since several international friends of mine will be starting their new lives in Japan (mostly in Tokyo, though).
Just recently, I've caught up with a Swedish friend and he seemed to be kinda nervous about experiencing Japan's summer (wonderfully muggy!). As he loves fashion, he asked me a lot of question about Japan's fashion brands. When the topic was moving on to winter clothes, he said, "what is the best winter outer-wear?"
Alright, that's a great question. I introduced him to an amazing down jacket brand.
I usually buy a winter jacket once every three years. So, 2016 was the year that I was supposed to do so, and back then I was living in Sweden.
As I’ve discussed many times in this blog, I’m an Acne Studios freak. Since buying Acne goods in Sweden is 30 to 40% cheaper than buying their goods in Japan, I was planning to buy an Acne’s down jacket there.
I asked a shop assistant what their most recommendable outerwear was, and he showed this down jacket. I tried it on and it was kind of perfect for me like very light, stylish, warm, etc.
However, since I’m short (171cm) and the size started from M (I needed S), I felt like the jacket didn’t match me unfortunately.
Then, I decided to resist buying it (I was whispering “why no S size, why no S size, why …).
Instead, I did some research on winter jackets for my future shopping.
Recently, I’ve seen a number of people wearing luxury down jackets on the street regardless of their ages and gender. In fact, according to a recent study, both international and domestic high-end brands have increased their sales significantly in the Japanese market.
For instance, Moncler, an Italian apparel manufacturer and lifestyle brand most known for its quality down jackets, increased their sales by 17% in Japan from Jan to Sep of 2017 compared with the year earlier.
Although their average price is around ¥200,000, their products have been very popular among Japanese fashion lovers. Their current sales in Japan is about ¥20B.
In addition, CANADA GOOSE, a Canadian manufacturer of winter clothing, opened their first flagship shop in Tokyo. On an opening day, it formed a long line (150 people) in front of the shop.
Their jackets aren’t as pricy as Moncler, but still cost roughly ¥100,000, which is very high. Nevetherless, it’s boomed in Japan and their awareness has increased all over Japan.
Furthermore, just like Moncler and CANADA GOOSE, a lot of foreign luxury brands have entered the market and succeeded in developing their businesses in Japan.
It can be said that this situation that Japanese people are willing to pay over ¥100,000 for their winter jackets was actually created by a Japanese outerwear brand.
This is actually what I introduce to you today.
Mizusawa Down is one of the most popular (famous) made-in-Japan down jacket brands established by Descente, a Japanese sports clothing and accessories company situated in Osaka, Japan.
Descente owns a portfolio of 16 in-house, purchased and licensed brands, among them Descente, Shiseist, Arena (in primarily Japan and the Far East), Marmot and Srixon.
In 2002, Descente worked on creating the Cortex suits and uniforms for the Japanese, Swiss, Spanish and Canadian teams competing in the 2002 Winter Olympics in collaboration with Eiko Ishioka, a Japanese art, costume and graphic designer.
In 2008, the company launched their first Mizusawa Down (jacket).
In 2010, Mizusawa Down was adopted as the official uniform for the Japan team of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.
Since the first launch of Mizusawa Down, there has been a growing consciousness of their quality winter outerwear among Japanese people, and Descente has also increased the lines of Mizusawa Down.
They created and incorporated 10 special technologies into Mizusawa Down.
1.BOA TECHNOLOGY
2.STREAMLINE TECHNOLOGY
3.PARA-HOOD
- WATERPROOF
- BUILT IN CUFF
- PARAHEM
- HEAT NAVI
- HEAT WELDING
- DUAL ZIP VENTILATION
- MOBILE THERMO SYSTEM
However, the most remarkable technology is their “Non-quilt Waterproof” technology. Watch this video!
As you can tell, Mizusawa Down repels water very well and never allows water gets into their jackets. They incorporated SAITOS MATTE FLEX, a very stretchy fabric and combined it with its non-quilted, thermal bonding.
Furthermore, they adopted seam tape construction instead of quilting each material, which realized the ultra waterproof.
Even if you buy a high-end model such as Moncler, as time goes by, down comes out from the jacket as long as it’s quilted.
However, it’s never happened to Mizusawa Down!
Mizusawa Down has 6 types and each line has different features in terms of style, function, etc. Last year, I bought “Shuttle“, the lightest model among the 6 types.
Mizusawa Down Shuttle was awarded 2015/2016’s gold winner of ISPO, the world’s largest trade fair for sporting goods and sportswear which takes place in Germany every year.
Therefore, the model has been one of the most popular types and been sold-out always.
To be honest, I was going to consider if I should buy it, but once I tried it on, I couldn’t resist buying it because of its comfortability.
The Shuttle is really light, warm and stylish. Since I bought it, I haven’t even brought an umbrella because it can prevent me from getting wet.
I could say that Mizusawa Down Shuttle has been the best winter jacket that I’ve ever got! So, if you’re planning to buy a quality down jacket, I highly recommend that you should try Mizusawa Down first.
Come to Japan and become a Mizusawa lover!