Tokujin Yoshioka on his new light-filled store for Issey Miyake in Ginza, Tokyo
Titled ‘Issey Miyake Ginza / 442’ the new store is summed up by ‘light, future and sustainability’, says Tokujin Yoshioka. Here, he takes Wallpaper* inside the new four-storey Ginza outpost
‘Light. Future. Sustainability.’ These are the three words that Japanese designer Tokujin Yoshioka uses to sum up the essence of his latest project: a new Issey Miyake flagship store, which opens in Tokyo’s Ginza district this week.
The new store, Issey Miyake Ginza / 442, which spans four levels of a new-build tower in the upmarket retail district, is an airy, minimalist space, with subtly nuanced shades of grey and angular lines of light and shadow.
Large rectangular aluminium panels appear to float in space, spanning walls above bright colour-bursts of Issey Miyake clothing and bordering walls of windows, evoking a softly futuristic and industrial edge.
Inside Issey Miyake Ginza / 422
The panels also form a minimalist staircase that cleanly transects each level of the space, with the aluminium’s light grey tone – matte and cloud-like – blending in smoothly with the concrete flooring.
The minimalist backdrop provides the perfect visual counterpoint to the organic curves of the Issey Miyake knit installations in the window, plus the carefully curated collections showcased throughout.
The ground floor is home to the rainbow-bright pinks, greens and browns of the latest Pleats Please Issey Miyake collection, alongside bags; Issey Miyake womenswear spans the first floor; A-poc Able Issey Miyake is on the second floor; plus menswear, watches and glasses are found on the basement level.
Taking Wallpaper* on a pre-opening tour of Issey Miyake Ginza / 442, Yoshioka explains: ‘Simplicity is important. I was thinking about how to design the entire store as one coherent whole. You see how the aluminium panels intersect and cut into the space, creating an integrated concept.’
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox
He adds: ‘The panels are not just for decoration – they also cover the hanger rack and on the windows, they provide shade from the sunshine. It’s spatially functional as well as aesthetic.’
Reflecting Issey Miyake’s principles, sustainability is also interwoven through the space: Yoshioka created panels from ecologically sustainable recycled aluminium, echoing the technique he used to bring to life the torch he designed for the Tokyo Olympics.
‘These panels were made by the same manufacturer in Japan as the Olympic torch,’ he explains. ‘For the torch project, I studied aluminium metal in-depth and applied that knowledge to make these panels. The panels are typically used for structural elements, created by an extrusion method.’
He adds: ‘I like using aluminium. As a material, it works really well with light. When I design, I often think about light and use it as a concept or theme. Whether it’s a surface or an interior, I like to think about how people experience light.’
The new flagship sits just a stone’s throw from the company’s existing Issey Miyake store, which was designed by Taku Satoh and first opened in 2011. This sister store, now renamed Issey Miyake Ginza / 445 (reflecting its address), has been lightly renovated to create the new gallery space Cube.
The first Issey Miyake gallery in Tokyo (in addition to exhibition spaces in Kyoto and Osaka), Cube aims to tell the multi-layered stories behind the process of design and making. Its debut exhibition showcases installations inspired by the vivid flowers and bold shades of the brand’s sixth Ikko Tanaka Issey Miyake collection, featuring the motifs of the late iconic Japanese graphic designer.
For Yoshioka, who has designed numerous Issey Miyake stores over the past three decades, the new Ginza flagship is the first major store project to be completed since the passing of Issey Miyake in 2022.
Reflecting on his legacy, he says: ‘It’s very positive what he has left behind. He was working until the last moment of his life. In my last phone call with Issey san, he wanted to have a meeting for a project we are working on. That attitude is really inspiring.’
‘I consider myself to have been one of the protégés of Issey san and I hope to continue his legacy and help create many good designs and beautiful things.’
He adds: ‘I would sum up the philosophy of Issey Miyake with the words innovation and challenge. If by entering this space, people can see this philosophy in a clear way, then I think I have done my job.’
Danielle Demetriou is a British writer and editor who moved from London to Japan in 2007. She writes about design, architecture and culture (for newspapers, magazines and books) and lives in an old machiya townhouse in Kyoto.
Instagram - @danielleinjapan
-
Find yourself at Six Senses Kyoto, the brand's breathtaking Japan debut
Six Senses Kyoto opens its doors boasting tranquil, luxurious interiors by Blink Design Group
By Danielle Demetriou Published
-
Shigeru Ban’s mini Paper Log House welcomed at The Glass House
'Shigeru Ban: The Paper Log House' is shown at The Glass House in New Canaan, USA as the house museum of American architect Philip Johnson plays host to the Japanese architect’s model temporary home concept
By Adrian Madlener Published
-
Artist Mickalene Thomas wrestles with notions of Black beauty, female empowerment and love
'Mickalene Thomas: All About Love’, a touring exhibition, considers Black female representation
By Hannah Silver Published
-
Kiko Kostadinov’s Tokyo outpost is a fashion store like no other
Bulgaria-born designer Kiko Kostadinov tells Wallpaper* why he chose Tokyo to open his first store, which sets to ‘pervert the traditional mould’ and features collaborations with artists such as Ryan Trecartin
By Orla Brennan Published
-
’Issey Miyake: 1960 to 2022’ is a definitive guide to the pioneering Japanese designer
’Issey Miyake: 1960 to 2022’ is a new Taschen book that provides a comprehensive overview of the pioneering Japanese designer’s ’poetic but pragmatic’ work
By Jack Moss Published
-
Issey Miyake’s radiant new Paris store celebrates its deep-rooted links to the city
Issey Miyake’s new flagship store on Paris’ Rue François is designed by Tokujin Yoshioka, featuring a luminous orange wall designed to evoke the rising sun
By Jack Moss Published
-
This season’s womenswear channels freedom and escape
These S/S 2024 womenswear looks promise an escape from the everyday, and are photographed amid the otherwordly landscapes of the Canary Islands for the March 2024 Style Issue of Wallpaper*
By Jack Moss Published
-
Ya-man’s Tokyo store is ‘an immersive, almost psychedelic experience’
Ya-man, the Japanese beauty brand known for its tech-focused devices and gadgets, opens an otherworldly HQ in Ginza, Tokyo
By Daven Wu Published
-
Designer Ronan Bouroullec on his colourful collaboration with Homme Plissé Issey Miyake
The multidisciplinary French artist and designer saw his colour-soaked drawings reinterpreted by the Homme Plissé Issey Miyake design team as part of the Japanese brand’s menswear show in Paris last week
By Jack Moss Published
-
Paris Fashion Week Men’s A/W 2024: Loewe to Hermès
The best of Paris Fashion Week Men’s A/W 2024 in our ongoing report, from Jonathan Anderson’s church of masculinity at Loewe to a consideration of pleasure from Véronique Nichanian at Hermès
By Jack Moss Last updated
-
Issey Miyake’s innovative IM Men label arrives outside Japan for the first time
IM Men, a menswear label centred on functionality from the Miyake Design Studio, arrives in a much-anticipated new London pop-up
By Jack Moss Published