A City Within A City: Uniqlo’s New Tokyo Megastore

Surrounded by Tokyo’s commercial center and steps away from the busiest train station in the world, Uniqlo’s flagship megastore stands as a miniature city inhabited by mannequins draped in colorful denim and brightly colored T-shirts and regularly visited by style-savvy tourists.

The store opened its doors last month, a project of Japanese architectural and industrial design outfit Curiosity. The store’s concept mirrors the nearby skyline. A trio of display towers marks the front entrance, blurring the boundary between city and store. An internally lit, geometrical grid façade helps disrupt the outline of the store, creating a negative space that helps the bold Uniqlo pop against the busy neon flash of the Shinjuku ward. Inside white fixtures were designed to disappear amid light reflected from a mirrored wall and lighted ceiling, which highlights this city’s most distinguished guest: the clothes. [via archdaily, pics by nacasa & partners]