Japan is a hot-bed of out-of-the-box creativity and retail design is one of the areas in which it excels. The latest store with more is the new Patrick Cox boutique in Tokyo’s Aoyama district, a mecca for fashion.
Local architect Chikara Ohno designed the store using only three elements – the colour white, the circle shape and lighting – to great effect. Forming a canopy, huge, cylindrical pendants hang from the ceiling resembling imposing sculptures that also illuminate the products perched just below on cylindrical counters, lit from their bases.
Ohno’s design demonstrates the power of simplicity. By working with a few key elements and playing around with proportion he has achieved a dramatic space that also stays true to its function – which is of course to cast the merchandise in the best possible light – pardon the pun – so we are compelled to buy it. – Lisa Evans