H&M's brand, MONKI, will open on September 6th at Cute Cube Harajuku, a shopping mall on Takeshita Street in Harajuku. This is its second store, following the Osaka store that opened on June 1st. The shop will occupy the main space on the first and basement floors of the building.

Items feature a fun, graphic-on-graphic design featuring eyes and characters printed within graphic patterns, and this season's theme is monochrome. The brand has introduced 12 mascot characters, "Monkies," each with their own name and personality, and plush toys are also available for purchase. Limited-edition items will also be available in the center of the basement floor.

"The Osaka store has received a good response, with striking items featuring patterns, neon colors, and animal prints being well-received. While our main target overseas is teenagers, our Osaka store has a wide range of customers, from those in their 20s to those in their 50s, and we even have parents and children shopping together," said a MONKI PR representative.

The shop's interior concept is "The Sea of Scallops." The silver ceiling resembles the surface of water, and the interior is decorated with objects reminiscent of sparkling jellyfish and a merry-go-round sinking into the sea. While the Osaka store follows the same concept with a color scheme of green, pink, yellow, and brown, the Harajuku store is monochromatic, featuring white, gray, and black. A "Monki Garden" with benches has been set up in the common area outside the store on the first basement floor. "Monki, which launched in 2005, was inspired by Tokyo's free-spirited, crazy, anything-goes style. Now that we're opening a store in Harajuku, we're saying within the company, 'We're back!'" (same source). It will be interesting to see what kind of sensation this combination of Tokyo street style and Scandinavian minimalist design will create in Harajuku.