Link to article in the WSJ
Quote:
The most obvious proof that Japan is fast becoming the best place in the world to eat, drink, shop and sleep is that America is starting to import non-Japanese wares from Japan. Six years ago New Yorker Gordon Heffner, who had worked in the Garment District for a decade, and his Japanese business partner made a bet that Japanese denim was so good, despite its expense, that Americans would come to covet it. The two opened SoHo shop Blue in Green, which stocks only Japan-made jeans, as well as the Real McCoy's clothes. Now they're not just successful, but they also have competition in what seems to be a niche market. And Japan's best designers are even migrating to our shores: One of the most acclaimed boutique brands, Engineered Garments, is helmed by Japan native Daiki Suzuki but manufactured in New York City. Suzuki, also head designer for Woolrich Woolen Mills, brings a distinctly Japanese sensibility to traditional American attire.
