The exhibition "Leica: A Century of Witnessing the World," celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Leica I, has opened at Spiral Garden in Aoyama, Tokyo. It is symbolic that a Leica, a "recording device," has been placed here, at the intersection of fashion, art, design, and photography culture. The exhibition is designed to reexamine not function or technology, but the very act of looking.

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Leica's 100-year history overlaps in the "urban vortex" of Spiral Garden
A stream of people continues from the Aoyama-Omotesando intersection. Spiral Garden, located on this same line, is known as a place where new trends in fashion and art emerge. In this spiral space, a series of cameras, from the Leica I, which was born in 1925, to modern M models, will be exhibited not in chronological order, but as "layers of memory." The cameras, lined up behind glass, are lit in a way that emphasizes the "beauty of their skeletons," creating a striking impression that they stand like "small pieces of architecture" rather than industrial products.

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The photographs don't "speak," but "breathe" - an encounter with images that are filled with time
In the middle of the exhibition, works taken with Leica by Ueda Shoji and Fukuyama Masaharu are lined up, exuding a quiet tension. The light is subdued, creating a space where the noise in the air seems to gently subside. Standing in front of the photographs, your breathing naturally deepens, and your gaze is drawn deeper into the photographs, as if chasing "invisible time." The stillness that permeates Ueda's compositions, the subtle warmth captured by Fukuyama's gaze. What both photographs have in common is Leica's unique sense of time, which does not "freeze a moment" but "captures a moment and sends it off into the future."

As you face the works, the act of "recording" gradually transforms into an experience of "re-examining." This space is a place where you can quietly but deeply experience the "spirit of photography" that Leica has built up over 100 years.

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Special Limited Edition "Leica M11 100 Years of Leica “TOKYO JAPAN”" - 100 Units Engraved with the Names of Cities
To coincide with the exhibition, a special limited edition M camera model, "Leica M11 100 Years of Leica “TOKYO JAPAN”," has been announced. It will be sold exclusively in Japan, with only 100 units available. The body is engraved with "Tokyo Japan," visualizing the "moments when the camera, which has recorded 100 years of history, was connected to the city."

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The black painted top plate features the Leica logo. The warmth of the metal feels instantaneous to the touch, elevating it beyond the realm of a simple camera and emanating the presence of a work of art that is completed through use.

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Leica is no longer an "object," but a "device for remembering."
Like watches and jewelry, we now live in an age where cameras are linked to fashion and culture. This exhibition quietly but clearly illustrates this change. "Not a tool for making the world more beautiful, but a tool for viewing the world." It has been 100 years since the birth of the Leica I. It is likely that its gaze will continue to capture new memories in the city of Tokyo.

photo by ©FASHION HEADLINE