The curated store "la kagu" (67 Yaraicho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo), renovated from Shinchosha's "Kita Warehouse" facility in front of Kagurazaka Station, will hold its grand opening on October 10th. Produced by SAZABY LEAGUE in partnership with Shinchosha, the store is based on the concept of "REVALUE," which embodies the idea of finding value in "things that have existed for a long time" and "things that we want to continue to cherish" without being swayed by trends. Based on this concept, the store offers a unique selection of fashionable items and everyday items from around the world, both domestic and international. The vast two-story space, spanning a total area of 962.45 square meters, houses women's fashion, household goods, and a cafe on the first floor, while men's fashion, furniture, a book space, and a lecture space on the second floor. The terrace will host a regular farmers' market, "la kagu market." The exterior design was created by Kengo Kuma and Associates, which has ties to Kagurazaka. The industrial, minimalist space, which makes use of a book warehouse built in the 1960s, features a wooden deck and a grand staircase leading to the second floor. The creative director for women's fashion is Momoyo Ando, formerly a buyer at a major select shop. Focusing on "basic yet high-quality, long-lasting pieces," the store also offers original products that complement selected items. Currently, the store offers three styles of blouses, with plans to gradually expand the selection. Key brands include Acne, J&M Davidson, Maison Martin Margiela, Marni, and Church's. For men, Kota Tanaka will curate a collection based on the theme of "American casual heavy-duty for the adult generation." Key brands include Barbour, Brooks Brothers, and Converse. The lifestyle goods selection was undertaken by stylist Miyoko Okao. The lineup features high-quality items from around the world, including French and Japanese tableware, cookware, towels, and linens, all with a playful twist. The furniture is vintage Scandinavian furniture, including pieces by Hans Wegner, sourced by Haluta in Ueda City, Nagano Prefecture. The cafe, which seats 50 at long wooden tables, has Yoshika Umazume of popular Kamakura restaurant LONGTRACK FOODS as food curator and is operated by charcuterie specialist Kodama. The cafe serves homemade sausage hot dogs, dishes using ingredients from la kagu market, and coffee roasted by Takashi Horiuchi of Kamakura's Café Vive Mondimonche. The book space will use the warehouse's original bookshelves to sell books selected by book director Masataka Haba along unique themes such as "Books of Books," "Nature and Living Creatures," "Walking in an Unknown City," "Men and Women," and "All I Think About is Food." In addition, there will be an event titled "10 x 10," in which 10 judges will select 10 titles each, which will be displayed and sold on special bookshelves. The judges include architect Kengo Kuma, Shinchosha President and CEO Takanobu Sato, SAZABY LEAGUE Chairman and CEO Ryuzo Suzuki, photographer Naoki Ishikawa, author and manga artist Erika Kobayashi, and Bishamon Senbei Fukuya's Seiichiro Fukui. The adjacent lecture space will host book-related events such as author talk shows, as well as workshops and rakugo performances, scheduled to take place about twice a week. Guests for October include Mari Yamazaki, Miki Tori, Mitsuyo Kakuta, Takehiro Kono, Banana Yoshimoto, Nori Ikeuchi, Yukio Ninagawa, and more.

In addition, as part of the opening project, titled "La Kagu and Writers," 300 copies of short essay manuscripts will be distributed to the first customers, written by writers such as Ryu Wada, Ira Ishida, Hideo Furukawa, Hitoshi Matsuie, Shinji Ishii, and Takehiro Higuchi after living and working with the products sold in the store for several weeks. In addition, original products such as bags, lamps, and mugs will be available in collaboration with Japanese brands and creators involved in the La Kagu project, including Kengo Kuma, Masataka Haba, and illustrator Wendy McNaughton.