Axes Femme

Axes Femme

Founded	2002
Predecessor(s)	AXES
Country	Japan
No. of locations	50+
Owner	IGA Co., Ltd.
Website	website
Webshop	webshop
Twitter	axesfemme_tweet
Blog	blog
Instagram	axesfemme_official
Current status	Active
Lolibrary Link

Axes Femme (アクシーズ ファム) is a popular 'loliable' Japanese fashion brand, with a more recently launched designated lolita fashion line, known for their comfortable, affordable pieces and environmental sustainability.

Concept

Axes Femme describes their brand concept as follows:

"Axes femme carefully creates the world view of European vintage.

We aim to create clothes that only axes femme can create that are loved by everyone, regardless of age or national borders.

I hope that the clothes of axes femme will add a little color to your lifestyle.

Through our brand, we hope that the thoughts of people, customers and creators will be connected all over the world."

Earlier iterations of this brand concept evoke a more specific image/aesthetic:

"In the era of golden age in Paris called “Belle Époque”, people dressed up elegantly and spent their fashionable lives.

Like the art works of Toulouse-Lautrec, color of showgirl’s dress, the hem of frill, the luxury dress decorated with slender lace and embroidery spread into the mass.

Beautiful but subtle, fleeting nuance has transformed into the modern style and now breathe in the axes femme."

History

While Axes Femme would not be officially created/launched until 2002, in March 1988, IGA Co. Ltd, (then known as Igarashi Co., Ltd.) would open a wholesale women's casual shop "AXES" in a suburban shopping center. In August 2002, they would then shift from wholesale to manufacturing their own products directly and begin planning for the launch of their new brand, Axes Femme.

The first “axes femme” store would launch in October 2002 within Aeon Mall Kuwana's anchor department store, Kuwana Vivre. The shop would be a success and rapidly expand throughout the country. By February 2006, they already had 36 locations across Japan.

October 3, 2008 marked both the opening of the official axes femme online shop and of the "nostalgie axes femme" flagship store. This marks the introduction of their nostalgie, kids' and home goods lines.

2012 would mark the launch of their popular Poetique line.

In 2013, Axes Femme opened store locations in both Shanghai and Paris, though these would both eventually close over the next 8 years.

In fall 2014 the brand announced their KAWAII line, featuring more original prints and lolita-focused designs. This would eventually get a standalone global webshop in April 2022.

Sub-Labels

A screenshot showing thumbnails for each of the brand's listed sub-sections (and related brand, Fickle Bebe) as of March 2023.

Axes Femme Poetique

axes_femme_poetique_official

Lolibrary Results

Launched in November 2012, Axes Femme Poetique focuses on flowing, delicate fabrics and delicate details. The brand describes the line as follows:

"The colors of tender wind and sunshine, the lace and flower printed, and the jewels like the starry sky are filled into the shop decorated with orange-pink. Items with nostalgic detail, staring but gentle colors, and tender motif, just like the poems in your heart. POETIQUE is the feminine brand mixed of sweet and bitter."

Axes Femme Kids

axes_femme_kids

Lolibrary Results

The Axes Femme children's line launched alongside the webshop and Nostalgie flagship store in October 2008. Samples and designs were displayed at the opening of the Nostalgie store, though many (if not all) of the Kids line items were initially an online exclusive.

The concept of the line is described as follows:

"Taking axes femme's taste in, clothes, bags, shoes are assorted for cute little ladies. From the daily use cutsew to dressed up one piece in parent-kids matching style, Mom and girls will be happy to shop. The kids corner in axes femme is like the jewelry box with sweet dreams, and give girls irreplaceable girlhood."

Axes Femme Kawaii

axes_femme_kawaii_official

webshop

Lolibrary Results

Axes Femme Kawaii is the brand's line targeted directly at lolitas and kawaii fashion enthusiasts. It was announced in fall 2014 with the release of their Sweet Halloween and Sweet Swans print collections, introduced as a collaborative line with Japanese kawaii designers and focusing on original print designs.

That said, Sweet Halloween and Sweet Swans, being the first items announced for the collection, do still bear the Axes Femme Poetique tags and shop categorization; Kawaii was only fully added as its separate brand on the webshop in 2015 with their Classical Marine print.

Due to the line's popularity with lolitas outside of Japan, in April 2022 a direct English-language global webshop was launched for Axes Femme Kawaii, offering easy international shipping, exclusive offers and a number of currency options.

Axes Femme Nostalgie

axes_femme_nostalgie_official

Lolibrary Results

The Nostalgie line was launched with the Axes Femme NOSTALGIE flagship store in October 2008. It is described as having a more mature image than the standard line.

The brand concept reads as follows: "Beneath a glittering chandelier, the closet is filled with feminine clothes. Antique-style dressers, clocks and lamps, and nostalgic frames on the walls. A shop that incorporates the world view of axes femme into interiors and miscellaneous goods is like a girl's room who loves fashion, travel and cute things."

Axes Femme Home

axes_femme_home_official

Launched with the NOSTALGIE store, Axes Femme Home is the brand's line of feminine home goods including kitchenware, decor and household textiles.

Axes Femme Purple Label

Axes Femme also regularly release items under their Purple Label. It is unclear at this time what differentiates this label from others under the brand's umbrella, though this tweet may imply that it is aimed at an older female demographic?

Axes-X

axes_x_official_

Initially launched as "axes femme for MEN" in November 2020 with the tagline "New classic lifestyle", but was later marketed with the hashtag #axesanyone in the interest of attracting a wider demographic.

In May 2022, the line rebranded to Axes-X and relaunched as a unisex fashion line. The rebranded line's concept would be stated as "A genderless fashion brand that transcends the boundaries of race and gender. [...] Realizing a mixed taste of the good old days and the present, we propose a beyond style that transcends eras and genres."

Axes Femme Red Label

Line Info/Official Site

Launched in July 2020, Red Label was created as a project-based initiative, creating items by committee with fan/customer input throughout the design process. Updates and blog posts would be posted allowing customers to vote on their favourite options while a basic item is being designed, from decorative additions such as lace and trim options, to more structural elements such as waistline height. Axes Femme considers these products as having been specially collaboration-made with their own customers.

Axes Femme Vintage

Line info/Official Site

Axes Femme Vintage is a line selling secondhand Axes Femme products, as well as original items such as tote bags and aprons made from leftover fabric from their official releases. These original items, dubbed ハギレのハンドメイド, are made in cooperation with local Support Centers for Persons with Disabilities and sales go to directly benefit them. This initiative was launched as part of the brand's zero waste project declared in July 2020.

The first physical Axes Femme Vintage store was opened in July 2021 in front of Takefu Station, Fukui Prefecture.

Anecdote

Anecdote was proposed as a sub-line or sister brand in 2013 alongside the opening of Axes Femme's first European location in Paris, France. "ANECDOTE", its initial concept would read, "is a brand inspired by the "Belle Epoque", the flowery decades in Paris. Styling of high quality and luxury made of selected textures and materials are assorted. The first store opened in le Marais, Paris displays the new collection"

Little is known about this brand/collection; the line was promoted as being actively hiring in 2013, but the line was removed from the Axes Femme website by March 2014, and the Anecdote domain had already been abandoned by late 2014.

Notable Figures

This section is incomplete, you can help it by adding information about: Designers, models, common collaborations, etc

Characters & Design Motifs

This section is incomplete, you can help it by adding information about: Mascots, common/original design elements

Locations/Sales Model

Axes Femme sells both online and via their physical locations. Their online sales strategy is split into separate Japanese and internationally-focused webshops and social media channels, as well as an additional direct shop for Axes Femme Kawaii items, marketed towards the international lolita fashion community.

Due to the extensive number of Axes Femme locations, please consult the following link for the most up to date information on current shop locations:

List of Axes Femme Shop Locations

Past/Closed Storefront Locations: https://www.iga-group.com/company/

Shop	Address	Years Open	Socials
axes femme Shanghai		January 2013-March 2021 (moved to TMall)
axes femme Paris		October 2013-2017

Tips for Identifying Pieces

• Item numbers are typically listed on items' wash tags. If it is not already listed in Lolibrary after searching by both item number and by general tagging/attributes, try searching by item number here (either gets you the item page, or general release timing based on similar numbers) or here as well for ones post-2017. Searching the item number directly on Google may also find you other secondhand listings in the images tab, as Google's OCR now picks up item number text from tag images.
• 2012-2013 releases seem to be introduced by name & price pretty consistently on their Jugem blog
• The sub-line tag, if present, will help you narrow down the year of release (see dates above).
• 2014-present releases may be present on Twitter (search by account axesfemme_tweet or axesfemmenews and a range of dates using Twitter's Advanced Search function)
• 2017(?)-present new releases are typically announced, often with item number on their Global Facebook Page.
• The Axes Femme shop URL often has the item name in it, but weirdly encoded in your browser bar.  For example if you come across this link: https://web.archive.org/web/20161019013310/http://shop.axesfemme.com/femme-%E3%82%AF%E3%83%A9%E3%82%B7%E3%83%83%E3%82%AF%E3%83%AD%E3%83%B3%E3%82%B0%E3%82%B3%E3%83%BC%E3%83%88/brandproduct/femme/0/TD442X03/?cat=100102&swrd= you can decode it to find out the item name is actually クラシックロングコート, or Classic Long Coat (use a decoder such as Webatic )

Gallery

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  Melody Cat JSK

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  Flower Embroidery Bowtie Blouse

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  Classic Doll OP

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  Rococo Skirt

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  Long Back Tuck Vest

External links

• Axes Femme アクシーズ ファム – Japanese Facebook page
• Axes Femme Global – English Facebook page
• Axes Femme Global WebShop - Online shop for international customers
• Axes Femme Global Instagram
• Axes Femme Global Twitter
• Axes Femme Jugem Blog - active from 2007-2012
• Old Official Webshop - active 2008-late 2009
• Regional Shop Blogs List - most active from 2011-2014