OREANDA-NEWS. ITOCHU Corporation announced that it has acquired the exclusive rights to import and sell in the Japanese market the contemporary brand ELIZABETH AND JAMES, which is enjoying high popularity in New York. ITOCHU will begin selling ELIZABETH AND JAMES products through the CORONET CORPORATION, commencing with the 2014 Spring-Summer season.

The ELIZABETH AND JAMES brand is a contemporary ladieswear brand founded in 2007 by former actress twins Ashley Olsen and Mary-Kate Olsen. Based in New York, the brand is now sold in more than 30 countries.

The ELIZABETH AND JAMES brand represents an exquisite balance between the opposing elements of uptown, sophisticated femininity and downtown, casual masculinity. Its extensive collection of clothing, leather goods, eyewear, footwear, and accessories that incorporate trendy fashion woven through with the sensibilities of its founders offers a style that is chic while at the same time lending itself easily to everyday wear, gaining the support of Hollywood celebrities and other women with high fashion sense.

In 2009, only two years after establishing the brand, the Olsen sisters were chosen as members of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA), a great honor for designers working in the United States. In 2012, they received the 2012 Womenswear Designer of the Year award in the CFDA Fashion Awards, presented to designers who have excelled in the fashion arena. Having achieved steady growth as a contemporary brand in only five years since its establishment, today the brand is extending its influence not only in the United States but worldwide, especially in famous department stores, specialty stores, and selected shops, such as Bergdolf Goodman, Neiman Marcus, and Opening Ceremony.

Joining others such as LANVIN, Nina Ricci, MILLY, and THE ROW already sold in the Japanese market through Coronet, the brand will be sold mainly in department stores and specialty stores nationwide, as a contemporary brand to watch closely targeted at women with high fashion sense in their 20s to 40s. The brand aims to achieve retail sales of one billion yen in three years’ time.