JINS' flagship store, Shibuya, opened on May 26th. With a combined floor space of 330 square meters (107.8 tsubo) on the first and second floors, the store boasts the second-largest floor space of the 320 JINS stores. Architect Sosuke Fujimoto designed the store. While he designed eyewear for JINS's "Architect Series," a 2009 project featuring 11 architects, this is his first foray into JINS store design. The interior features floating wooden fixtures, whose appearance changes depending on the viewer's position and angle. Eyeglasses are simply displayed and stocked functionally. A wooden counter offers face-to-face sales and offers new services, such as an original blueberry juice created in collaboration with Oisix while customers wait. Unlike existing JINS stores, this store clearly aims to be an "innovative, communicative store" that fuses eyewear and culture, taking into account the unique characteristics of Shibuya, a hub of Japanese youth culture. The second floor is an event space with movable fixtures and wooden benches with art books and other items, promoting a cultural outreach without merchandise displays. The opening exhibit featured contemporary artist Yasuhiro Suzuki's "Blinking Spectacles," a series of works that highlight the height of one's perspective. Other works on display include "Up/Down" (2017), "Blinking Clock" (2003), "Zipper Ship" (2004), "Apple Kendama" (2003), "Pencil Drawing the Border" (2002), "Knothole in the Magnifying Glass" (2017), and "Compass of the Japanese Archipelago" (2011), all of which are representative of the city's work. "Air Man" (2007, 2017) is also displayed in the stairwell leading to the second floor and on the first-floor fixtures. The exhibition will remain open until mid-July, with plans for periodic art events to be held in the future.

In addition, bags and pouches created in collaboration with artist Teppei Kaneuji are also being sold in advance as "artist goods" related to glasses.

Text: Tatsuya Noda