Forever 21 opens in a big way

No wonder a lot of my contemporaries became fashion designers. When I was growing up we didn’t have all the choices the kids have now. Back then we had fabric stores, seamstresses, and an imagination.

Now you can actually find decent, up-to-date clothes in the mall. International chain stores like Zara and Topshop have become so accessible that now we have more fashion stylists than designers.

The latest clothing brand to enter the local retail scene is Forever 21, the giant Los Angeles chain that opens its flagship store at SM Megamall on July 2.

It’s hard to keep track of how many Forever 21 stores there are around the world. As of April this year, it had 480 stores, and the number keeps growing.

Though it occupies the former Cinderella space on the second level of Megamall A, the Forever 21 franchise is owned and operated here by the SM group.

Last Wednesday I was lucky to get an exclusive tour and preview of the store by marketing manager Jane Kingsu Cheng and co-manager Lui Saporsantos.

First of all, we’re talking about 2,700 square meters of space, including a 2,200 square-meter selling area.

There are 34 fitting rooms, 60 sales assistants, 11 cashiers, or a total of 91 staff, including management.

The first thing I thought was, wow, this is four times the size of our house. (And I thought Singapore’s four-story Forever 21 at the 313 Mall was unreal.)

Second, with its very affordable price points (from P130 up and nothing above P2,500) plus new styles arriving every week, this is going to pose a serious threat to so many businesses in the apparel and accessories market.

Besides the basics, the Megamall flagship will carry the Forever 21 sub brands called Heritage, which has the vintage/indie/collegiate theme; a higher-end line called Twelve by Twelve, or a Gossip Girl-ish line designed by Forever 21’s twelve house designers; Love 21, a classic, contemporary line for the working woman; and 21 Men, for the unforgotten shopper.

Hopefully they’ll bring in Faith 21 for the plus-sized woman, plus I heard children’s wear is coming soon.

Forever 21 opens officially on Friday, July 2 on the 2nd level of SM Megamall A, right next to Watsons. Be among the first 250 customers who will receive a shopping voucher worth P200 just by showing up at the store.

And that’s a good thing because it’s a school day. Us earning women can have first dibs while the young ones are at school.

After all we grew up making our own clothes; while the kids these days, they have it so good.