Fashion Capital of Asia

 

A fashion capital is a city inspirational for fashion. Additionally, fashion capitals have cultural and entertainment scenes. Since fashion is based on trends, fashion capitals change annually. Globally, New York, Paris, London and Milan have been ranked as top fashion cities of the world for many decades.

In Asia, Tokyo (東京) has been the fashion capital for many decades due to Japan’s economic strength and the Harajuku trend. According to the Global Language Monitor, Tokyo ranked sixth in 2007. In the following year, Tokyo ranked tenth place losing to Sydney, which ranked at seventh place, as fashion capital of the Asia-Pacific region. Global Language Monitor bases its fashion capital figures by using an algorithm that track information from media sources and blogs on the Internet.

However, Hong Kong has risen to topple Tokyo as the fashion capital of Asia. In 2010, Hong Kong ranked second place behind New York City as fashion capital of the world. Last year, Hong Kong dropped four places to sixth. Hong Kong beat Tokyo for the first time as fashion capital of Asia in 2009 ranked at seventh place. Although not highly ranked as Hong Kong, fellow Chinese city Shanghai is rising as a fashion capital of Asia. In 2010, the eastern coastal city outpaced Tokyo for the first time by placing 12th.

Singapore (新加坡) is also rising as a fashion capital of Asia. In 2011, Singapore ranked eighth as a fashion capital, which was the first time for the city to be in the top ten. Bali is being placed on the map for fashion too. For swimwear, Bali ranked fifth in 2010.

Oddly enough, Tokyo has regained its strength by placing ninth place, which is three spots behind Hong Kong, in 2011. Regardless, Tokyo has prominence in the Asian fashion scene despite the rise of Hong Kong as fashion capital in the region.

The advantage of the aforementioned Asian cities is the general acceptance of credit cards. While shopping for Asian fashion, people will have to carry a thick stash of cash, which is impractical and attractive to petty thieves. With a credit card, consumers can earn flight miles (飛行里數) that is not possible with cash. Therefore, using a credit card to earn airline miles in Hong Kong, the fashion capital of Asia, would be wise.

For more information about fashion capital listings, visit the Global Language Monitor by clicking here.