Similarly to the French, Italians have a fascination for the Land of the Rising Sun, and frankly, it’s also mutual. If you ask us, a lot can be attributed to fairly compatible sensibilities and an appreciation of the finer things in life, and it’s no wonder the offerings of many an Italian luxury brand resonate quite well with discerning Japanese. Following a string a of standalone boutique and shop-in-shops across Japan, Milan-based luxury leather brand Valextra ups the ante with its most striking retail project to date in this country: Casa Valextra. Occupying a traditional former teahouse in the Kyoto‘s scenic Gion district, the retail space brings together the masters of Milanese design, the DNA of Valextra, and Japanese culture. The setting is curated by architect Luciano Giorgi of Milanese practice LGB-Architetti, which has created custom-made brass and green-lacquered mirrored furnishings as a nod to Valextra’s aesthetic handwriting. Additionally, the space incorporates brushed and dyed hemlock wood as a tribute to Japanese dark woods.
Also, the space is complemented by a new typeface conceived by Studio Temp which took inspiration from the 1962 Valextra logo created by legendary architect and graphic designer Angiolo Giuseppe Fronzoni. Throughout the premises iconic pieces by Italian masters – mind you, the showcase includes designs by BBPR, Gianfranco Frattini, Franco Albini, Gabriella Crespi, and Luigi Caccia Dominioni – are presented, all sourced from the private vintage collection of the Galleria Luisa Delle Piane in Milan and they’re put in dialogue with traditional Japanese wood and stone structures. Inspiration from the icons of Milanese design, including the 1964 M1 metro line handrail engineered by Bob Noorda and Franco Albini and the Milanese Torre Velasca landmark engineered by BBPR, are also celebrated around the space. Casa Valextra stocks the brand’s full range of bags and small leather goods, in addition to limited edition, store exclusive items and colours.
Casa Valextra
570-8 Gion-machi Minami-gawa (Gion)
Kyoto 605-0074
Telephone: +81 75 6065790
Daily 11am-7pm
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.
