A Look at the Hermès Pop-Up Mini-City in Tokyo

1911 marked Hermès‘ first contact with the Land of the Rising Sun, when Prince Kan’in Kotohito enlisted the French house to supply saddlery to the Japanese cavalry brigade. Come 1961, Hermès’ products spilled into the public sector, expanding its presence to forty stores in the country.

Having held the reins at Hermès since 1988, head of menswear Veronique Nichanian oversaw the development of the French fashion house’s “Nature of Men” exhibition since January, tapping artists, architects and designers to realize a micro-city within Tokyo. The event took place in a hangar at Haneda International Airport, sectioned into rooms exploring various dimensions of the Hermès brand, “from details and sensuality to prints.” The concept of building a mini-metropolis stems from the work of architect Nigel Peake, whose illustration depicting an abstract, utopian cityscape inspired Nichanian to bring the drawing into life-size proportions.

800 VIP guests were first seated for a full-blown runway show of Hermès’ Fall/Winter 2016 collection.

A record shop created in conjunction with music executive Theirry Planelle housed vinyl records containing past Hermès menswear show soundtracks. Each record sleeve featured one of 72 silk scarf design from the last 12 years, inviting fans to draw connections between music and the label’s history.

In another room, titled ‘Expression of Time,’ an archive of nine leather jackets owned by loyal customers, decorated the walls, accompanied with stories from those who own them. One put his jacket in the washing machine and completely changed it,” said Nichanian. “But it shows that with time Hermès items can become even better; we believe the patina of time is very important. In a similar vein, a ‘Bespoke Wall’ revealed the painstaking process behind the fashion house’s products, showcasing a deconstructed suit in 144 pieces and a shirt in 42 pieces.

One room contained an interactive installation in which the walls, floors and ceiling were covered in Hermès shoes. Exploring the inner turmoil of a working man who cannot decide what pair of shoes to wear (and thus goes barefoot), the installation provided a provocative edge to the Hermès experience. The parallels between the vibrant, neon-happy interior of Hermès’ latest immersive venture and the city that housed it were masterfully brought to light, making for an unprecedented spectacle that solidified Hermès‘ place within Tokyo’s fashion scene.