On September 7th, Control Bear's first concept store in Japan, "Control Bear STORE TOKYO," opened on the basement floor of Laforet Harajuku.
Control Bear was created in 2008 by designer Chogo Uehara as a character for the T-shirt shop "graniph." Its adorable, venomous pose of a bear disemboweling itself has garnered popularity. Until now, the brand had only offered its products at pop-up shops, but with an eye toward expanding into Asia and the world, they decided to open a store at Laforet Harajuku, a place where discerning shoppers gather, to communicate the brand's concept from Tokyo.
A fashion collaboration project also kicked off at the same time. The first project was a collaboration T-shirt with Tokyo brand "NOZOMI ISHIGURO," released exclusively at the store. The oversized T-shirt features a Control Bear illustration by designer Nozomi Ishiguro and the word "LOVE" printed on it. The product tag also features a specially designed tag. Other limited-edition items include stuffed toys in 20 colors, T-shirts, tote bags, and iPhone cases. The company is run by Spiral Cute, which holds the master license for Control Bear. Yoichi Kawakami, the company's representative director and the creator of popular characters like "Nameko," says, "The appeal of Control Bear lies in its concept of a strong-willed bear that controls its own mind, and its striking design that incorporates black humor. We've been strengthening our management of the character for about two years, and launched an art project last year. Going forward, we hope to actively promote integration with other fields beyond the character business, such as fashion." Regarding future developments, he adds, "We're also in talks to open stores overseas, including in Hong Kong, and to collaborate with international creators like Korean figure artist CoolRain." Last year, Parisian select shop Colette began carrying the character, and collaborative products were produced. When a pop-up shop opened at Narita Airport in March of this year, the company received inquiries from overseas consumers and companies. The character is also garnering attention overseas.

Inside the store, they will be showing a preview of a pilot version of a video work, a first for the store. It is a Japanese-style animation created with overseas fans in mind. The full version is scheduled to be released in September.