Raf Simons stores, Tokyo and Osaka
Raf Simons’ two new flagship stores in Japan – his first ever – are bold statements in art as much as fashion. The Belgian menswear designer, known for his young, tailored aesthetic, turned to acclaimed international artists Sterling Ruby and Roger Hiorns to create two thoroughly unique retail experiences.
Click here to see more of the two Raf Simons Japan stores.
For the two-level, 110 square metre Tokyo shop on Kotto Dori, which opened in September, Ruby created a modern urban den using a positive-negative visual dichotomy, photographing bleached canvas in segments and covering the walls and ceiling with the high-res negative prints. The original fabric was then used to make the fixtures and boxes around the store, mimicking the artist’s technique of sewing dyed material around rigid sculptural work.
In Osaka British artist Roger Hiorns created a sleek, glassy counterpoint, a super reflective space that leaves you feeling both wowed and slightly disoriented. Diagonally bisected by a 9m oversized mirror, the idea is for passers-by and customers to catch cheeky glimpses of actual people wearing the store's clothing, rather than stiff mannequins behind glass. Three reflective prisms and a patterned polished copper and aluminium floor complete Hiorns' vision.
For a look at some of our other favourite retail destinations from around the globe, check out our updated 2008 Retail Directory.
ADDRESS
Tokyo store
6-2-7 Minami Aoyama
Minato-ku, Tokyo
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Osaka store
Herbis Plaza B1F
2-5-25 Umeda
Kita-ku, Osaka
Jack Moss is the Fashion Features Editor at Wallpaper*, joining the team in 2022. Having previously been the digital features editor at AnOther and digital editor at 10 and 10 Men magazines, he has also contributed to titles including i-D, Dazed, 10 Magazine, Mr Porter’s The Journal and more, while also featuring in Dazed: 32 Years Confused: The Covers, published by Rizzoli. He is particularly interested in the moments when fashion intersects with other creative disciplines – notably art and design – as well as championing a new generation of international talent and reporting from international fashion weeks. Across his career, he has interviewed the fashion industry’s leading figures, including Rick Owens, Pieter Mulier, Jonathan Anderson, Grace Wales Bonner, Christian Lacroix, Kate Moss and Manolo Blahnik.
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