Tokyo shoppers stripped down to the bare essentials on Saturday
hoping to win free clothing as part of a promotional
giveaway.
The "semi-naked party" was hosted by Barcelona-based retailer
Desigual, who handed out free clothes to around a hundred customers
dressed in swimsuits and underwear at its flagship shop in
Tokyo.
Desigual, founded in 1984 and famous for its colourful patchwork
designs, has staged similar events in Barcelona, Paris, New York
and other fashion capitals ahead of major sales campaigns, but
never before in Asia.
About 350 people had queued outside the shop in the upscale
Harajuku district, some of them waiting in line since the night
before, under cloudy skies in the middle of a rainy season.
But only 100 of them, aged 18 or older, were admitted to the event
starting at 10:00 am on a first-come, first-served basis.
They merrily stripped to next to nothing, many of the women
sporting bikinis, at a cafe near the shop and wore multi-coloured
kimono-like bathrobes and beige hats provided by the company. They
were given churros and vitamin water for breakfast as they waited
for the door to open.
After a countdown they threw away the bathrobes and made a beeline
for the three-storey shop.
Each customer was allowed to come out wearing two products, one top
and one bottom.
"I'm here because I thought it's fun to come in swimsuits," said
26-year-old Tomomi Sasa, an unemployed Tokyo woman, before entering
the shop. "I haven't decided what to take home."
The company has nine wholly owned shops in Japan and the flagship
shop was established last December.
