In-the-know shoppers may be able to pinpoint Tokyo‘s retail gems blindfolded, but even they’ll frown when a striking new shop pops up in an unexpected neighbourhood of this sprawling city. And such is the case with Qucon, a streetwear store with benefits in Toranomon, a business area situated a few blocks southwest of Ginza. The store is a collab initiative of Katsumi Minami, a skateboarder, filmmaker and owner of Evisen Skateboards, and Shinpei Ueno, a good friend and colleague who runs affiliated company Tightbooth Production in Osaka. In turn, the duo teamed up with Naoki Yokokawa, a fashion designer known for his NAOKI-R label, to set up the and manage the space. Qucon has a surprisingly inconspicuous location, situated on a side street amidst office buildings, and seemingly miles away from any related scene or crowd. The store occupies a spacious 140 sqm. (1,507 sq.ft.) ground floor of a modern, nine-storey building clad in red bricks, and blends retail and shopping with skateboarding and play.
Upon entering the store, shoppers come across a homey retail section, featuring whitewashed walls and ceiling and parquet flooring. Furnishings comprise of a beautiful, curved wooden sales counter with Charles Eames stools and matching cabinets, and an additional seating section right next to the entrance. When advancing further into the store, an entirely white space unfolds, and it’s one that mimicks a skating ramp by way of its rounded corners. It’s obviously used as an events space, and comes with an elongated bench that lines the entire window. The skateboard aesthetic extends to the back of the store where colourful Evisen decks adorn the walls. Actual skateboarding can be practiced right outside where a sizeable concrete basin has been installed. The Qucon store carries branded T-shirts, hoodies, and obviously skateboards, and to commemorate the upcoming official opening on Sat – Mar 23, an exclusive collab item with Hiroshi Fujiwara‘s Fragment Design brand is released.
Qucon
2-19-5 Nishi Shinbashi (Toranomon)
Tokyo 105-0003
Telephone: +81 3 64024195
Mon-Tue 11-8
Fri-Sun 11-8
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.
