N°21, designed by Alessandro Dell'Acqua, opened its world-first flagship store in Omotesando, Tokyo, on August 1st. Located at 4-3-17 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, the store is a converted former private home next to Isabel Marant. The store spans three floors, covering approximately 134 square meters. It offers the brand's entire line, from women's and men's collections and commercial lines to bags, shoes, and accessories, as well as exclusive items. The store was art directed by Dell'Acqua himself and designed by architect Hannes Peer, who also designed Dell'Acqua's private residence. The store's striking contrasts include the exposed concrete walls at the entrance and the marble flooring inside the store. The contrast is also expressed by the mirrored decorations on the walls, which are reminiscent of surrealism, and the Art Deco table, sliced into six pieces and placed in a glass box, which was inspired by Damien Hirst. Women's items are sold on the first floor, and men's items on the second. The third floor is used as a salon for VIPs and others.
In addition, limited edition items will be released: a pink and black cardigan with a detachable collar accented with sequins for women for 69,000 yen, and a lace jacket for men for 156,000 yen.
Roberto Ortello, CEO of 2112 s.r.l., the Italian company that operates the brand, said, "Last year's global sales were 22 million euros, with Japan accounting for 35% of the total. We are grateful to have our first flagship store in Japan." He continued, "The second flagship store will be in Seoul, the third in Milan, and we are thinking of opening a fourth in Osaka. As for Japan, as our third strategy following our flagship stores in Tokyo and Osaka, we would like to increase the number of in-shops in department stores while maintaining our good relationship with Gruppo Tanaka. We would like to open seven to eight stores over the next three years. In addition to this, we would also like to open another flagship store in Tokyo."
Regarding the interior, Hannes said, "This store is an architectural embodiment of Dell'Acqua's concept of combining different materials, such as applying special processing to nylon to make it look luxurious, such as combining the cheap plastic material polycarbonate with Italy's most expensive marble, which Michelangelo used in his sculptures. This time, we made extensive use of concrete because we respect Japanese artists such as Kazuyo Sejima and Tadao Ando. Dell'Acqua also likes concrete, so I think we will continue to use it in our flagship stores around the world."
