Celebrating its 20th anniversary, Zurich-based bag brand FREITAG opened its Shibuya store (1F Komatsu Laurier Building, 6-19-18 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo) on September 6th. This is the brand's second store in Japan, following its Ginza store. Designer and founder brothers Marcus and Daniel Freitag visited Japan to celebrate the opening. The store is deep, stretching from Meiji Dori to Cat Street. Accessible from both streets, the Freitag brothers explained, "When we found this place, we decided to open it immediately. There are doors on both sides of Meiji Dori and Cat Street, and the concept of connecting the two streets came to mind. We wanted to turn the store into a road, creating a Freitag Street." As the brothers explained, the floor is printed with white road-like lines. Streetlights illuminate the store from above. One wall features shelves, similar to those used in the Ginza store, with drawers clearly labeled with product details and revealing the items inside. There is also a repair workshop on the Cat Street side.
The location is very different from the Ginza store. It faces a main street. "We always choose inconspicuous locations so that our fans can find us and visit, but the Shibuya store is different. This is so that people who don't yet know about our brand can find us. Because of its location, there is a constant stream of people passing by. Freitag's target audience is very broad, so we want people passing by to feel close to our brand."
Upcycling, a manufacturing method that goes a step further than recycling, is currently booming in the fashion industry. Freitag, which makes bags using materials such as truck tarpaulins, is a pioneering brand. When the store was founded in 1993, this was apparently a rare initiative. "The idea to start Freitag came to me on my first trip to India. I was overwhelmed by the culture of reusing used items over and over again. At the time, recycled products were not yet widespread, so Indian culture became my source of inspiration. The first messenger bag we made is now in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York."
The Freitag brothers visit Japan once a year. Tokyu Hands and Don Quijote are their favorite stores. On their latest visit, they bought a kitchen knife at Kappabashi Doguyasuji in Asakusa.
