Sustainable Swiss fashion house Freitag is expanding its empire with its newly opened flagship store in Tokyo. The Japanese outlet on the Ginza shopping strip is the label’s ninth store, and its first in Asia.
As is fitting for a label with Freitag’s emphasis on renewal, the Tokyo store is an old industrial building. Torafu Architects set to work turning the unused two-storey space into an edgy, utilitarian outlet.
The fashion house’s founders, brothers Daniel and Markus Freitag, made the pilgrimage to Tokyo for the store opening. The siblings entertained fashion’s elite and media at an exclusive press preview days before the official opening.
It makes sense for Freitag to put down roots in Japan. The country was one of the first overseas territories to embrace the label’s concept of upcycling old materials into fashionable accessories. The Tokyo store promises some 1200 unique bags made from old truck tarpaulins, punctured bicycle inner tire tubs, defunct air bags, and worn seat belts.
In keeping with Freitag’s philosophy of minimizing waste, its new Tokyo store also features a repair center. Anyone whose Freitag bag starts to suffer wear and tear can take it into this refurbishment hub for a tune up.
The new Tokyo store join Freitag’s other outlets in Berlin, Hamburg, Davos, Vienna, Zurich, Cologne, and New York City.
