Marc Jacobs Aoyama
Tokyo
Stephan Jaklitsch Design

Finishes highlight differences between fashion lines

© Paul Warchol

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Located in the fashionable Aoyama district of Tokyo, this is the first Marc Jacobs store to offer both the Marc Jacobs Collection and the Marc by Marc Jacobs line in one retail location. The architect’s design challenge was to create a single, unified store that could house both brands—the understated luxury of the Collection and the younger spirit of the secondary line—without disrupting either environment.

An existing 3,000-square-foot, three-story building was completely gutted and substantially reconfigured. The architect located the women's and men's Collection lines on the more exclusive top and bottom floors. The Marc by Marc Jacobs line, meanwhile, is housed at ground level, where a floor-to-ceiling glass facade engages the street. The architects repositioned a staircase and rerouted circulation to create a large, uninterrupted floor plate on each floor, which creates a central seating area at each level. The new steel, wood, and glass staircase continues a sense of transparency afforded by the two-level glass facade

Dark-stained oak flooring and white walls unify all three levels, but the architect used different finishes to define contrasting spaces for the separate clothes lines. In the Marc by Marc level, the oak flooring is stained navy blue and column covers are glossy white steel panels. Finishes on this level are glossier, brighter, and appear more machined. This level also features a custom-built, polished stainless steel and backlit glass shelving display system that stretches along the entire rear wall and serves as a beacon visible from the street. A denim-covered sectional pit sofa, custom designed by Christian Liaigre, anchors the center of the space with two white-coated aluminum display tables nearby by SJD.

The Collection levels, by contrast, feature walnut veneer paneling, hand-forged steel and lacquered wood display fixtures, and polished stainless steel rolling racks. Custom-designed leather furniture by Christian Liaigre also helps define a more refined sense of luxury that is appropriate to the brand.

Formal name of Project:
Marc Jacobs Aoyama

Location:
Tokyo

Gross square footage:
3,090 sq. ft.

Owner:
Look, Inc. Tokyo, Japan

Architect:
Stephan Jaklitsch Design, Inc.
115 West 27th Street 9th Floor
NY NY 10001
212 620 9166 tel.
212 620 9982 fax