The mina perhonen brand by Akira Minagawa offers a number of appealing, meticulously crafted original textiles in its apparel and other items, and will run a "mini department store" where customers can browse various products.
The "Dear Friend, Department" pop-up store, which will run from Wednesday to Monday at Isetan department store in Shinjuku, Tokyo, is based on the founder's childhood memories: Spending time with his family at a department store was a special event that brightened his daily life. It was also a place for him to get ideas about what a wealthy life with his loved ones would look like.
The pop-up store will feature women's clothing, bags, furniture and foods, in addition to items for babies and children. The event will also provide an opportunity to look back on the brand's more than 20-year history -- Minagawa launched mina perhonen as a small atelier to make clothes using original fabrics that were designed to never go out of fashion. The brand has remained loyal to the philosophy to this day, and now has an archive of more than 2,000 types of textiles.
Among the featured items at the event is a linen coat that has star motifs on the top half and trees on the bottom. The product puts together patterns that were originally created for different fabrics to depict a new landscape of a starry sky above a forest.
The event will also feature mina perhonen's collaborations with other brands. For example, a backpack and pouch will be on offer that were jointly produced with the famous bag brand Porter. These products have been given mina perhonen's popular embroidered motif called "tambourine," which features circles formed by small dots placed side by side.
Worth a close look will be a fabric by Liberty London, known for beautiful prints, which has been coupled with mina perhonen's meticulous embroidery. Other collaborators include Toraya Confectionery Co. and Pierre Herme Paris.
"All these partners do not just make quality products," Minagawa says in the event's brochure. "I myself also appreciate using their products. Planning this event has made me realize once again how profound the nation's ability to make products is and what potential it has."
The pop-up store will be open daily at the Isetan Shinjuku department store in Shinjuku, Tokyo, from Wednesday to Monday from 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. (6 p.m. on the final day). Entrance will be restricted on the initial day. Admission is free.
www.isetanguide.com/20180328/mina/ (in Japanese)
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