Two stores, one concept: to deliver Parisian style to the fashion conscious consumers of Tokyo. In a romantic gesture worthy of the capital of love, Maison Kitsuné opened the doors at its sister stores on St Valentine’s Day, with each venue offering a different facet of the brand’s Euro-cool. Naturally both stores are located in the ultra-chic Aoyama district – one providing high-fashion but ready-to-wear outfits, and the other, Cafe Kitsuné, leaning more towards lifestyle, with record label merchandise and more casual wear on the menu.
Everything from the floor up has been given plenty of thought by by brand co-founder Masaya Kuroki and architecture office FHC for this return to the firm’s spiritual home – Kitsuné means fox in Japanese. Some lovely cedar parquet work inside and tortoise shell paving in the courtyards lay the foundations for a stylish pair of outlets. Aspects of traditional Japanese houses have also been used to incorporate local influence into the designs, such as tailored coloured tatami, and sliding bamboo doors in the fusuma style. This twin birth is a welcome addition to the French firm’s family in the Land of the Rising Sun.
