TOKYO — Stella McCartney has brand new stores in Tokyo and Paris and the designer couldn’t be happier – or more incredulous.
“It’s amazing to me to have a store in Tokyo and Paris. That’s like when you’re a kid. It’s London, New York, Paris and Tokyo,” McCartney told WWD in an interview on the second story of her new Tokyo outpost in the trendy Aoyama neighborhood. “I can’t really believe it actually. I’m quite shocked. It doesn’t seem particularly real to me to me if I’m honest. I feel very lucky to have that in my career… Not bad for a seven-year-old brand.”
McCartney touched down in Tokyo for about 24 hours to fete the boutique with two parties Monday night.
Recreating the atmosphere of its famously raucous Christmas bash in London, the house festooned the store’s minimalist glass facade with gaudy holiday lights and hired an artist capable of twisting a taffy-like candy into reindeer, rabbits and other creatures.
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McCartney ordered up Spider-Man and Winnie-the-Pooh for her kids back home. Then the action moved on to Shibuya club Trump Room for a lively after party featuring a gravity-defying pole dancer in an oversized Afro wig and a performance by the indie band Golden Silvers.
The 2,200 square-foot Tokyo store, which opened in October, is located down a small side street behind the Prada Epicenter and the Comme des Garcons flagship.
The Aoyama store’s interiors feature Japanese ash walls interspersed with brass, ceramic tile accents, as well as an inlaid marble entry way. A sculpture of brass tubes flecked with gold-hued rectangular shards, dubbed the “rain unit”, runs through the two levels of the store and doubles as a clothing rack.
As for Paris, McCartney said she and her team had looked at various locations around the city over the past five years including Avenue Montaigne, Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honore and the Left Bank but the designer didn’t feel those addresses matched the spirit of the brand, so she settled on the picturesque Palais Royal.
The courtyard location, with a breathtaking formal garden and Daniel Buren installation, has become a hot designer destination, with Marc Jacobs, Rick Owens and Acne among retail tenants.
For complete coverage, see Wednesday’s WWD.