I think it will be completed in one year. That is why our concept is a "zero store.
At the cafe in the back of "FACETASM Aoyama. In the back, from right to left: Hiromichi Ochiai of FACETASM, SUZU and KOHH of DOGS. In the foreground, from right to left, COZA and JELLY, also of Dogs.
One day, a few days after the state of emergency was finally lifted for the third time, a store opened in a back alley in Aoyama, Tokyo.
FACETASM Aoyama is the main store of FACETASM, a label that is now leading the mode scene for a new generation. This is not the first time the brand has opened its own store; its first flagship store opened in 2015 in Jingumae, where it also has offices. The first flagship store opened in Jingumae, where the brand also has offices, in 2015, and was closed in 2019 due to property issues, and has since relaunched.
But in these times when so many people's actions are restricted, why did they venture there?
As a brand, a store is a very important place, and we always thought it would be better to have a store there. We were in the process of looking for a new location when the Corona Disaster happened, so we honestly felt that we had to move.
Mr. Ochiai, the designer, smiles a little as if he is a little embarrassed. His words are apt to reflect his modest personality, but the actual store is, on the contrary, a huge, glass-walled, sophisticated space, and many people are overwhelmed by its sudden appearance at the back of a quiet Aoyama neighborhood.
Next year, 2022, is the 15th anniversary of the brand's establishment, so I think it should be completed in one year's time. Therefore, the concept for the opening is a "zero store. Rather than putting all of our energy into it, we hope to take it slow this time.
Ochiai says against the backdrop of inorganic glass, white walls and flooring reminiscent of a museum's white cube, and the large greenery that accompanies them.
The newly opened store is not only home to the FACETASM collection, but also to several works of art, and the classic boom box by RASONIC on the floor is not just an interior decoration, but actually functions as a sound system. Talking with Mr. Ochiai here, I felt as if I was peeking inside his head.
One would think that Corona's decision to withdraw from Paris Fashion Week would have had some impact on him and his brand, but he has remained as natural as ever.
There is another space opposite the store, which is also directed by FACETASM. This space, named "LAB," is like a gallery, where events and experimental experiments are held on an irregular basis, with a higher degree of freedom.
The first move will be a pop-up store by DOGS, an up-and-coming crew and store based in Oji, right next door to Ochiai's hometown of Itabashi Ward, which he describes as "like a neighborhood relationship.
When I come to Harajuku, I often call Mr. Ochiai. What are you doing? And we'd meet and talk. Then we meet and talk, and it's like an extension of that.
When asked about the genesis of this project, KOHH told us, "It was originally planned to hold the pop-up a little after the start of the project. The original plan was to hold the pop-up a little later, but as Mr. Ochiai said earlier, due to the delayed opening, the main store and the lab of "FACETASM" were unexpectedly opened at the same time.
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