• Journal of Fashion Business
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.61-76
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• 2023

The purpose of this study was to derive exotic products handled by Bon Marche department store, examine characteristics, and reveal the meaning of exotic taste in the 19th century. The research method is literature research centered on original materials of the time, such as old literature related to department stores, and films, newspapers, magazines, and periodicals as well as books and papers. Commercial catalogs and Agenda-Buvard published by Bon Marché were used as visual materials. Results are as follows. Exotic tastes of products of the Bon Marche department store in the late 19th century showed an oriental style centered on Persia, India, China, and Japan. Products from various regions such as Turkey, Spain, Algeria, Tunisia, England, Italy, and Russia were also accepted. These exotic tastes had the following contributions and meanings. First, they expanded items and product development and activated domestic industry through production of imitations and replicas. Second, before the advent of department stores, foreign items that came to Europe were exclusive properties of a few privileged classes. However, in the late 19th century, as the number of consumers who wanted to have a new status higher than themselves increased, exotic products of the Bon Marche department store became the object of desire for material pursuits toward the upper class rather than sentimental fantasies. Third, exotic tastes gradually spread to the public as production of products imitating foreign products became possible industrially with an easy access to them. From this, it can be seen that department stores were mediators of trends and the epicenter of popularizing exotic tastes.