A Coveted Label That Remains Nameless

PARIS — To: Readers

From: Michael Quintanilla Dior, Chanel, YSL. In this Land of Lotsa Labels comes one house of style that doesn’t believe in them: Muji.

On just about any given day, Muji, short for the Japanese word, mujirushi, which translates as “no brand” (therefore, no label), is packed with shoppers--a mostly young, hip crowd sold on Muji’s philosophy of anonymity.

Even Catherine Deneuve, known for wearing Yves Saint Laurent, has popped in and purchased the simple, label-free Muji wear. No frills, no fancy embroidery, no far-out silhouettes, just basic, comfy T-shirts, tops, trousers and jackets in gray, black and muted colors.

And, lest we forget, Muji’s message is all about being counterculture--or, rather, counter-couture--not an easy feat in the fashion capital of the world.

“That’s why Muji has become so popular. It’s anti-fashion,” says Muji’s Marie Melon, manager of the year-old store on Rue Saint Suplice in a neighborhood where designers like Giorgio Armani, Karl Lagerfeld, Sonia Rykiel and others have chic boutiques. Muji has two other stores in Paris and has plans for two more. The Japanese company has 11 stores in London and is studying markets in Canada, New York and Los Angeles, according to Melon.

Melon explains that, originally, Muji was a food vendor in the Seiyu Department Store in Tokyo.

“The food was doing so well that the company decided to supply other vital needs of the Japanese family,” Melon says. Enter home furnishings and clothes.

“Muji clothes were started to counter the 1980s fashion movement when the Japanese liked to show off their Chanel and Dior brand names,” Melon says. Today Muji has more than 200 stores in Japan.

The no-label collection at Muji has become popular with trendoids, hipsters and celebs like Deneuve, Johnny Depp, his model girlfriend, Vanessa Paradis, locals and tourists, especially the Japanese who get a kick out of seeing Muji in Paris. Prices for the clothes, made in Asia, are affordable--$18 for two tank tops and $60 for a cotton pullover sweater.

For sure, labels will always rule in this cite de la mode, but it’s rare when a designer, or a store, for that matter, can boast of customers coveting their price tags like Pokemon cards or their shopping bags as if they were, well, the Fendi baguette.

“The funniest thing about Muji is that so many people come in here to buy a garment because they want to collect the price tag or walk out with a Muji shopping bag,” Melon says about the plain brown paper bag with “MUJI” bold-faced, its translation in Japanese characters above it. The bag, is, after all, the only status symbol associated with the clothes--and even that is a style insider’s secret.

Francois Montagne, a 28-year-old Muji devotee trying on a pair of jeans and a boxy black coat, is a style savvy guy.

“It’s true about the bags,” he says in English, his accent thick. “I always ask for an extra one or maybe two because they are chic. And from far away Muji almost looks like Miu Miu. I think that is funny.”

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Michael Quintanilla can be reached by e-mail at socalliving@latimes.com.