On Friday, December 14th, 2012, Swedish fashion brand Acne Studios will open its first flagship store in Japan, "Acne Studios Aoyama," in Minami-Aoyama.
Acne Studios began its expansion in Japan with a pop-up shop at the Isetan Shinjuku store in February 2012. In July of the same year, it established a joint venture with apparel company Tomorrowland Co., Ltd. (Shibuya-ku, Tokyo). Starting with this opening, the brand plans to open multiple street-level stores and corner stores across the country over the next few years.
The store will be located in the tenant space that was previously home to "10 corso como COMME des GARÇONS" until February of this year. The new store, which was created with the desire to "create a place where people can feel Sweden even in Tokyo," spans 260 square meters and is three stories tall, with a modern Swedish house-like exterior based on the concept of a "house within the store." The basement houses men's wear, men's denim, and accessories, the first floor houses women's wear, women's accessories, and shoes, and the second floor houses women's denim.
The materials used are a mix of various textures, based on the concept of "collage," which was also the concept of the 2013 Spring/Summer women's collection. Pop-dyed wood, stone, and blue granite (a type of New Age stone) are used, evoking the light of a Swedish summer. The interior colors are pale pink, Yves Klein blue, gray, and black. Transparent partitions are also used throughout the store. Regarding this design, Acne Studios Creative Director Jonny Johansson said, "It conceals yet reveals, confines yet liberates, so you could say it's a bit of a metaphor for Swedish 'sexy'."
Acne was founded in Stockholm in 1996 as a lifestyle brand. Its popularity began with jeans, and in 1998 it launched a full clothing collection. The women's collection is shown in London, and the men's in Milan.
Acne Studios will continue to handle Acne's PR, wholesale and online sales in Japan.
[ACNE STUDIOS AOYAMA]
Address: 5-3-20 Minami-Aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo
Opening hours: 11:00 to 20:00
Closed days: TBD
