We’re Designing the Closet
for the Planet
The Fashion Industry Is Entering Its Next Cycle
Fashion has a long history of being a privilege of the aristocracy and a symbol of social status. In medieval Europe, laws restricted the extravagance of clothing through sumptuary regulations, creating visible distinctions between social classes based on fabric and color. However, the French Revolution in the late 18th century and the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century ushered in the era of mass production. As the middle class emerged, fashion became democratized. By the end of the 20th century, fast fashion made it possible for anyone to access trendy clothes at affordable prices. Clothing was no longer a symbol reserved for the elite, but a daily form of self-expression for all.
Through this ongoing cycle, the nature of clothing as a product and the social and economic structures that support it have transformed dramatically. Today, we believe the cycle has come full circle. Clothing is now universally accessible, and anyone can resell what they no longer wear.
The fact that people own enough to sell what they no longer need highlights a profound shift in consumer roles. Consumers are no longer just buyers — they are becoming suppliers. We are entering a new phase.
With growing awareness of the wastefulness of fast fashion and the advancement of digital technologies, the resale market for secondhand clothing has seen explosive growth in recent years. The global secondhand fashion market is estimated to have reached $71.2 billion in 2022.
Several societal changes underlie the shift to consumers as resellers. Economically, reselling offers a rational way to avoid waste and earn income. Environmentally, there's a growing preference for eco-conscious living. Especially among younger generations, there's less attachment to newness, and secondhand items are widely accepted. The rise of digital platforms that make resale easy from a smartphone has further empowered consumers to drive fashion's secondary market.
In other words, consumers are no longer passive end-users — they are active participants in fashion circulation. This trend is generating a new life cycle for clothing and slowly reshaping the structure of the fashion industry itself.
Users Are Becoming Active Creators of Value
Fashion consumers were once merely receivers of trends dictated by brands and magazines. But with the rise of platforms like Instagram and TikTok, anyone can share their style and opinions. Consumers have become central figures in fashion.
Instead of following only celebrities or magazine models, many now find style inspiration from everyday people on social media. Particularly among Gen Z, it is common to take bits of inspiration from multiple influencers. In Japan, many fashion influencers started as regular users and went on to launch their own brands. This behavior reflects a broader trend — people increasingly draw inspiration from each other, not just top-down sources.
These influencers also contribute to brand marketing by showcasing products to their followers, co-creating value with companies. The fashion influencer marketing industry is projected to reach $46.47 billion globally by 2031, underscoring the significance of consumer-generated influence.
Consumers are no longer just recipients of information — they create content, form communities, and shape fashion culture. They are now co-creators of value, actively influencing how trends and brands are born.
What Is Required in the Next Cycle
In today’s globalized fashion industry, the pursuit of cheap labor has led to an outsourcing model that spans developing countries. The result is a supply chain that heavily depends on low-wage, labor-intensive manufacturing.
A typical T-shirt that retails for a few thousand yen may yield only 3% of its price as wages to the workers who sew it. The remaining 97% goes to materials, logistics, and brand margins. Many garment workers live below the minimum wage, working long hours under poor conditions.
To enable mass production, companies have increasingly outsourced their manufacturing processes to layers of subcontractors. In fast fashion supply chains, the use of multiple intermediaries makes oversight difficult. This creates serious risks of labor violations, including child labor and forced labor. The fashion industry is one of the sectors with the highest risk of labor exploitation worldwide.
From poor wages and unsafe factories to suppression of labor rights, the fashion industry faces serious ethical challenges. The Rana Plaza tragedy was just one visible incident — fires, strikes, and accidents continue to expose the industry's systemic problems. Prioritizing cheap and fast production has led to the erosion of humane labor standards. These structural issues in the supply chain have drawn criticism as a dark side of globalization, raising concerns about sustainability.
Fast fashion also incurs significant environmental costs. The textile industry is estimated to account for 2% to 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Chemical dyes pollute water sources, and massive amounts of clothing are incinerated or landfilled — at a rate of one truckload every second. Disposable fashion has created serious environmental damage.
The changing behavior of consumers (buying more, discarding quickly) and the structure of distribution (fast, high-frequency production) have created social issues such as labor exploitation and environmental degradation. While the current fashion cycle may have reached its peak, its backlash is giving rise to a new path forward.
A New Layer of Economic Value
The transition to a circular economy has the potential to transform the fashion industry.
First, by promoting secondhand use and extending the life of clothing, we can reduce the need for new production. This may ease the pressure on labor and reduce exploitative practices.
Second, circular models shift business incentives. Instead of focusing on disposable sales, companies are encouraged to create durable garments that can be resold or rented multiple times. This may lead to better working conditions, as skilled labor becomes more important to maintaining product quality.
From Ownership to Logging,
Expression and Circulation
In this “next cycle” of fashion, we are not simply building another apparel service.
We’re creating a starting point for systemic transformation—beginning with the personal act of logging one’s own style.
By enabling consumers to naturally participate in a new cycle of wearing, recording, sharing, and passing on, fashion shifts from being about what we own to how we express.
The value of fashion no longer lies in the object, but in the style itself.
That’s why we’re starting with a new kind of tool—one that lets people record their style.
You may let go of the item,but you never let go of your identity. In fact, letting go can be how you grow.
This kind of record enables:
The visualization of your personal sense of style
A fashion database that’s just for you—built over time
Not another “shopping app,” but a self-reflection tool disguised as a fashion platform
By documenting your journey, we help you put your style into words and images.
Today, fashion records are scattered—across iPhone notes, social media, and blurry closet photos.Without a tool specifically made for fashion, our personal taste and creativity often go unrecognized and underutilized.Meanwhile, in resale, the context is erased. Who wore the piece, how it was styled, what memories it holds—all of that disappears.
Clothes become mere commodities again, stripped of individuality and story.We see this as a major loss in a circular society.That’s why we are building a new circular model—starting from the individual fashion log.
As resale and rental become everyday choices, the meaning of “owning” clothes is evolving. Consumers are increasingly valuing not just the garment, but the style and story behind it.
A record is expression,
trust and how we pass things on
Fashion is no longer just content to be consumed in an instant—it’s becoming a form of self-expression that we nurture over time.