Last weekend’s opening in Tokyo of the world’s first standalone Louis Vuitton store dedicated exclusively to its menswear line, is a renewed indication of the city’s stature as the leading retail capital. Situated at Miyashita Park, previously a green strip north of Shibuya Railway Station, and now a new mini mall with an excellent curation of high-end shops and a lush rooftop park slightly reminiscent of The Highline in New York City, the presence of Louis Vuitton has already made it one of Shibuya’s most popular destinations for a young and discerning clientele. Designed by the in-house design team of the French luxury behemoth, the boutique stands out from its surroundings through a striking backlit façade comprising of twisted metal and glass in the brand’s iconic Damier motif, and paired with seemingly overflowing blobs of yellow as a nod to LV², the collab collection of the brand’s creative director Virgil Abloh with Japanese designer and style guru Nigo. Upon entering, shoppers encounter a 10-foot tall LV Made duck, a Louis Vuitton re-interpretation of Nigo‘s ‘Human Made’ signature and emblem of the aforementioned LV² Collection.
Mind you, it’s available as a collector’s item, on a coin purse or attached to the handles of a bag. So, what else can be found on the shelves? In celebration of the store opening, items from the entire menswear range have been tweaked by the illustrious duo, in addition to signature LV² denim pieces of patchworked Vuitton prints and classic backpacks. A monogram hoodie entirely in mink is available in limited numbers, in addition to a specially engraved Tambour trophy watch and diamond encrusted fine jewellery embodied by house mascot Vivienne. A special pop-up space occupying features seasonal animations to reflect new arrivals, while the entirely white first floor acts as a multipurpose space for exhibitions and events. Adding to the store’s hyper exclusive vibe are pieces from the Louis Vuitton Objets Nomades Collection, as well as the brand new Babyfoot from the Art of Gaming collection and items from the Taïgarama Antartica range. Up to Jul 27, access to the new Louis Vuitton men’s boutique can only be obtained through online booking.
Louis Vuitton
Miyashita Park, 6-20-10 Jingumae (Harajuku)
Tokyo 150-0001
Telephone: +81 120 474126
Daily 11am-9pm
Publishers Note
Just to be clear – superfuture® is a design blog and not a political commentator. No surprise there. The scope of our content has always been global and borderless, however that can often mean covering projects in countries where we will not agree with the politics or actions of those countries. In a world that’s as screwed up as ever right now, the focus of our support is to those designers, architects and other creatives who aim to make the world a more liveable one – as opposed to people that try their hardest to destroy it. So if a project hits our desk and we like it based on its design credentials, we may choose to publish regardless of its location or creators nationality. superfuture® has always been inclusive and hopes for all current wars, aggression, violence, hate and extremism to end.
