The Japanese emporium Muji opens a sprawling new NYC flagship this week—the company’s eleventh US store—in a prime location on Fifth Avenue across from the New York Public Library. With two floors and nearly 12,000 sq ft at its disposal, the store is Muji’s largest in North America and offers several new services (a scent bar, embroidery station) and collections (kids’ apparel) that haven’t previously been available in the States, as well as exclusive items like natural-material knitwear and animal-themed printed children’s’ clothing.
Exposed-brick walls, wood shelving and potted plants scattered throughout serve as a contrast to the brand’s streamlined, minimalist collection of living essentials—everything from toasters and rice cookers to suitcases—lending the space a warm, inviting feel.
Highlights exclusive to Fifth Avenue include three personalisation stations: the Aroma Lab, where visitors can create a bespoke home fragrance blended on the spot for use in the brand’s popular diffusers; an embroidery station, where over 100 designs — including a cheese burger, Mount Fuji, the New York taxi cab and letters — can be added to textiles or clothing; and a rubber stamp bar, where shoppers can personalise Muji's arsenal of paper goods and gift bags with a range of playful stamps.
The boutique also features an expanded area dedicated to Found Muji. Here, visitors can persue Muji's ongoing collection of curated artisanal and utilitarian everyday objects and homewares inspired by different cultures around the world. For the opening, the Fifth Avenue space's Found selection showcases utilitarian glassware, textiles and ceramics inspired by the Basque region.
The two-floor space boasts several new features, including a mini plant shop
The brand's Found Muji concept, a curation of artisanal and utilitarian everyday objects and homewares from different regions of the world, also gets an airing. It's current collection is dedicated to the Basque region
The Fifth Avenue space also comes armed with an aroma station, where shoppers can have a custom home fragrance blended on the spot for use in its popular diffusers
A collection of New York-branded tote bags, available exclusive to the store
A trio of Muji appliances - a rice cooker, electric kettle and toaster - recently made their way to the USA and are ready to buy
The embroidery station, where visitors can customise purchases with over 100 designs. The New York City collection includes motifs such as a cheeseburger, pretzel, yellow cab and the Statue of Liberty
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ADDRESS
Muji
475 Fifth Avenue
New York, New York