Tokyo Fashion Buildings
Shopping malls with fashion sense
01 October 2007
Introduction
An introduction to the most famous fashion buildings in Tokyo and some of the newer examples.
Keywords:
fashion buildings, gyaru, real clothes, Tokyo, Ginza, Tokyu, Shibuya 109, Omotesando, Onward Kashiyama, PARCO, Shibuya, Banana Republic, CanCam, Yohji Yamamoto
Laforet Harajuku
First established: 1978
Corporate Group: Mori Building
Current Locations: Tokyo (Harajuku), Niigata,Matsuyama
Key tenants in Shibuya location: TopShop/TopMan (2F), See by Chloé (1F), Helmut Lang (1F), Silas and Maria (3F) Stripe by Theatre Products (2F)
Style: Unique spatial arrangement with small escalators looping between half-floors.
Importance: At the corner of Omotesando Avenue and Meiji Street in Harajuku, Laforet is still the center of a certain girly avant-garde aesthetic in Japanese design targeted towards artsy young women in their late teens and early 20s. Although more basic brands like TopShop and Arnold Palmer have recently come in, the main attraction is still the small shops from risky new designers.
Laforet originally came to prominence in the 1970s by taking Harajuku's independent brands out of their small shops and putting them inside a central building. Laforet's main conceptual mastermind Katsuhisa Sato worked hard to make Harajuku Tokyo's "fashion neighborhood," with his building at the center of that branding.
Laforet still plays an important role in developing young designers and produces fashion shows for its tenant brands. The building recently threw a "Laforet" fashion show at the Paris Expo, strengthening their image as the central force for unique girly design in Japan.
The Laforet Museum on the top floor was once the key location for exciting contemporary art exhibitions but still holds various conferences. (The Laforet Golf School on the roof is slightly less trendy.)
First established: 1978
Corporate Group: Mori Building
Current Locations: Tokyo (Harajuku), Niigata,
Key tenants in Shibuya location: TopShop/TopMan (2F), See by Chloé (1F), Helmut Lang (1F), Silas and Maria (3F) Stripe by Theatre Products (2F)
Style: Unique spatial arrangement with small escalators looping between half-floors.
Importance: At the corner of Omotesando Avenue and Meiji Street in Harajuku, Laforet is still the center of a certain girly avant-garde aesthetic in Japanese design targeted towards artsy young women in their late teens and early 20s. Although more basic brands like TopShop and Arnold Palmer have recently come in, the main attraction is still the small shops from risky new designers.
Laforet originally came to prominence in the 1970s by taking Harajuku's independent brands out of their small shops and putting them inside a central building. Laforet's main conceptual mastermind Katsuhisa Sato worked hard to make Harajuku Tokyo's "fashion neighborhood," with his building at the center of that branding.
Laforet still plays an important role in developing young designers and produces fashion shows for its tenant brands. The building recently threw a "Laforet" fashion show at the Paris Expo, strengthening their image as the central force for unique girly design in Japan.
The Laforet Museum on the top floor was once the key location for exciting contemporary art exhibitions but still holds various conferences. (The Laforet Golf School on the roof is slightly less trendy.)