Internet Archive Book Club Vol. 2
Internet Archive Book Club Vol. 2
Powershop: New Japanese Retail by Carolien van Tilburg.
What do brands like Undercover, Sony, Nissan, Yohji Yamamoto, and Issey Miyake share in common besides all being Japanese? This book explores the handful of interior design firms that beautifully curate the stores for Japan’s biggest brands. There is much to talk about when it comes to Japanese interior design and architecture as a whole but for this the focus is on the retail shopping experience. I relish this era of early 2000s retail with nostalgia especially now that it is not the focus for most companies anymore.
This weeks book, Powershop, came out in 2002 and focuses on not only Japanese brands and interior design agencies but more specifically on only stores in Japan. The most notable agencies featured include Curiosity, a collaborative effort between French designer Gwenael Nicolas and Japanese marketeer Reiko Miyamoto, and handled interior design for the Pleat Please stores in Marunochi and Aoyoma, Issey’s ‘Me’ store in Ginza, and the Takeo Kikuchi store in Osaka. The agency EXIT was founded in 1996 and handled the retail experience for the Number (N)ine stores in Ebisu and Nagoya. Fumiya Design Office designed the hyper futuristic Nissan flagship in Tokyo’s flashy Ginza district while the Yasuo Kondo Design Office did interiors for many Yohji Yamamoto stores. Out.Design did the Undercover store as well as No Concept But Good Sense. So many more beautiful interiors featured in this book so I highly suggest checking it out!