France, Japan and the price of perception: when identity becomes a luxury asset
Updated: 13 hours ago
Written by Nahia ONCHALO–MEYNARD
The luxury market has certainly remained in the limelight this summer, and Paris has fully embraced this fashion effervescence. Through Fashion Week, museum exhibitions, countless film premieres and the attractiveness of European capitals as vibrant summer destinations, the city of Love has witnessed a heady popularity spike. It continues to consolidate its status as Europe's leading cultural destination, welcoming over 23 million international visitors in 2025 out of France’s 102 million, with tourism exceeding pre-pandemic levels. Fashion has long had a symbiotic relationship with France: chic french couture projecting ideals of elegance, freedom and independence around the globe, while luxury has become one of the country’s strongest assets and vehicles of soft power. During the Spring/Summer 2025 Paris Fashion Week alone, the French capital welcomed 42,000 international visitors, illustrating this global appeal. But cultural influence inevitably attracts interest in return, and while the French aesthetic is appealing to foreign audiences, domestic fashion enthusiasts have also been drawn to alternative artistic directions. This openness to cultural exchanges has, in turn, fostered a longstanding fascination with influences beyond France’s own creative traditions. Among them, Japan holds a particularly distinctive place.
The allure of Japanese identity, be it culturally or artistically, has long fascinated the French imagination. However, the aesthetic appeal Japan holds in France — more broadly Europe, has established a strong presence: the archipelago’s brands are actively capitalizing on this growing interest. From the innovative sensibility of Comme des Garçons to the meticulous craftsmanship of Issey Miyake, Japanese fashion houses have built a distinctive presence within the European luxury landscape. During the 2026 Paris Fashion Week, famous Japanese luxury brand Madison Blue chose to present its collections through a different lens than many foreign luxury brands: it is not merely selling high-quality garments, but Japanese craftsmanship. This emphasis on Japanese expertise is not merely a marketing choice; it also benefits from the strong associations consumers attach to Japan as a country of origin. The country-of-origin effect, developed in 1989 by Professor C. Min Han, helps explain how perceptions of a country can influence consumers’ evaluations of the products associated with it. In the case of Japanese craftsmanship, associations with innovation, precision and quality can act as a “halo,” transferring positive perceptions of Japanese culture, technology and ethics onto products that may otherwise have little connection to these attributes, simply because they carry the Japanese trademark. As a result, even when consumers are unfamiliar with a country’s products, the limited image they have formed of the country through various exposures can influence their consumption decisions. As consumers become more familiar with a country’s goods, their perceptions of its image increasingly become shaped by their own experiences with its products. Nevertheless, country image can continue to significantly influence consumers’ evaluations, perceptions of quality and purchase intentions.
Having planned on expanding and opening a physical store in Paris since 2020, Madison Blue leverages product differentiation, authenticity heuristics and brand equity with little effort but considerable impact. France’s fascination with Japan is neither recent nor accidental. It dates back to the 19th century with Japonisme — a movement where curiosity for Japanese traditions and way of life meets the passion for art, self-expression and cultural exchange, and has remained remarkably influential. Artists such as Claude Monet drew inspiration from Japanese aesthetics, while Félix Bracquemond famously incorporated motifs from the Japanese prints of Hokusai into the celebrated Rousseau tableware service. This cultural admiration continued throughout the 20th century, expanding to architecture and design through the work of Charlotte Perriand. By the 1980s, Japanese designers such as Yohji Yamamoto and Rei Kawakubo had brought a distinctly Japanese perspective to the Paris fashion scene, challenging established notions of silhouette, beauty and luxury. The 21st century is not to be outdone, witnessing a continuous rise in Japanese luxury exports through flourishing brands such as CFCL or Setchu. In November 2024 alone, no less than 31,100 French visitors flew to Japan, according to the Japan National Tourism Organization. This represents an increase of roughly one-third of the 2019 numbers and continues to rise. As Japanese products exported to Western markets became associated with high quality and refinement, the Land of the Rising Sun progressively established a reputation of beautifully combining tradition and modernity, as well as mastering precision and curated minimalism. Beyond trust in the product’s perceived quality due to this cognitive fluency, the brand’s strategy acts on a much deeper level, tapping into aspirational consumption —where consumers symbolically associate themselves, through the ownership of such a good, with the highly regarded values that Japan conveys through its production.
Madison Blue is not the first one to have done it, following the steps of brands such as Upper Heights and Auralee, both branding on their Japanese sourcing as well. This sheds light on interesting perspectives on alterity, psychological biases and market mechanisms, beyond conventional marketing practices.
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