As tensions rise over tariffs, one American brand is making its international imports a focal point.
L.L.Bean’s Japan Collection, which features streetwear-style products designed exclusively for the Japanese market, was first released in 2023, but US shoppers could only access its items through travel or proxy services. That is until last week, when the Freeport, Maine-based retailer brought the Japan Collection stateside for the first time at pop-up events in New York and LA. The pop-ups featured items including special-edition field coats, anoraks, and fish-print tees.
Beyond the fact that everyone and their mother seems to be traveling to Japan, Amanda Hannah, head of brand engagement and external communications at L.L.Bean, told us that now was the right time to highlight L.L.Bean’s history in the country as consumer demand for craftsmanship and “globally influenced heritage style” rises, and as other brands experiment with Japanese styles stateside.
“There is this pent up demand that has existed in the US market for the Japanese-edition items,” Hannah said. “And so all of those things combined, we decided, ‘Hey, let’s test it. Let’s do this pop-up experience.’”
Back and forth and back again
L.L.Bean’s business history with Japan goes back decades. In 1992, the retailer’s first store outside of Maine opened in Tokyo around the same time that classic American clothes like denim and button-downs became part of a trend called “Ametora” that led to rising overseas demand. L.L.Bean now operates 20 stores in Japan, as well as a business office, Hannah said.
“We effectively started seeing, in the late ’80s, a lot of orders from Japan from our catalog,” she told us. “At the same time we started to see busloads of tourists from Japan in Freeport and the flagship store really being the destination of their travels.”
The pop-ups that sprang up last week were centered on highlighting the brand’s American heritage clothes “reinterpreted through the lens of Japan,” she said. Some of the items at the pop-ups, like skirts, were from outside L.L.Bean’s traditional US offerings, while other items were takes on more familiar items, like the well-known Boat and Tote bag.
Hannah said the goal was to see which items sparked the most demand from shoppers; the top-selling product, she said, was the Prospect Harbor Field Coat across both pop-ups, which saw more than 1,600 attendees in total. The event “far exceeded [L.L.Bean’s] expectations,” she told us.
Style imports
What makes an L.L.Bean item different in Japan compared to the states? Clothes in the Japan Collection, Hannah said, tend to have more oversized silhouettes and different fabrics with a focus on layering. While the colors are still relatively neutral in classic L.L.Bean fashion, you won’t be able to find a baby-blue field coat in its stateside offerings.
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“It’s really familiar, but it’s really fresh and different at the same time,” Hannah said. “It is our classic heritage styles, but with that Japanese precision and real intentionality around shape.”
Slowly but surely, Japanese “raw” and “selvedge” denim has grown in popularity as some US shoppers seek out heavier-duty and higher-quality construction. American brands have taken note. Earlier this year, Levi’s announced a new Japanese denim line, Blue Tab, and Lee and Buck Mason released their own selvedge collab inspired by Japan’s rockabilly scene.
With L.L.Bean’s Japan Collection, Hannah said that the quality can be felt in the shirts, which are much heavier and are constructed differently than the shirts sold in the US.
As demand for Japanese clothing grows in the states, Hannah said L.L.Bean’s American designers have spoken with its designers in Japan and are applying certain elements of the Japan Collection to its American products.
“It’s all very much within the DNA of L.L.Bean, but even with some of the fit, the oversized styling, you’ll even see a few more skirts in the line for fall this year from us,” Hannah said. “We’re definitely being deliberate in terms of taking those learnings from the Japan edition and applying them to certain styles—not all styles—but certain styles here.”
As more brands seek to strengthen ties with Japan, the Trump administration’s focus on levying tariffs on imported goods stands to significantly impact Japan’s economy. The tariffs are currently on pause for many countries, including Japan, but uncertainty around the taxes and if they are resumed or changed could still have an impact for any brand that imports items. At this point, Hannah told us in early April that it’s unclear how the tariffs could impact L.L.Bean’s global operations.
“We’re just assessing the situation and in the midst of figuring out how to mitigate the impact to customers,” she said. “It’s something we’re obviously going to be watching along with everyone else.”
For now, Hannah said the goal is to tell the story of L.L.Bean’s three-plus decade “symbiotic relationship” with Japan.
“The hope and goal is to just continue and honor the heritage of L.L.Bean…but allow it to be interpreted in different ways and in really relevant ways for different markets,” she said. “Japan has just been an outstanding example of doing that.”