Hasta La Gadget!

Iconic street fashion magazine FRUiTs is producing a retail space, FRUiTs MiX, in the brand new Marui One department store in Shinjuku. This is the first move of this kind for the famously progressive publication, and one that takes the brand into far more mainstream, accessible territory. A number of locally influential Harajuku boutiques (like Faline and Dog) and vintage shops (Berberjin) are involved in the project. Street savvy designer Nozomi Ishiguro has also been tapped to create a limited edition line, Nozomi Ishiguro FRUiTS PUNCH, for the select shop.

Marui One, which opened on February 20th in the high-traffic, oft-visited Shinjuku district of Tokyo, is positioning itself as a showcase for Tokyo fashion to Japan and the world. Each floor gets its own theme: the first is Tokyo Pop City, the second goes to FRUiTS, the third is “Romantic Casual,” and the fourth will sell contemporary kimonos under the banner “Asian Modern.” Floors 5-8 are taken over by Marui Young, the arm of the department store chain specializing in gothic, Lolita, and punk styles.

Like the Beams CULTuART Store we covered previously, Tokyo retail institutions are looking to capitalize on the city’s cool quotient.