New Costume National flagship store in Tokyo features work by Ryuji Nakamura and Patrick Blanc

images courtesy excite.ism | click to enlarge

Yesterday, September 1st, marked the opening of Costume National Aoyama Complex (CNAC), the new flagship store of the “Edgy Chic” Italian fashion brand, Costume National. The new complex is, in a sense, a homecoming for the brand, which was founded in 1986 by Ennio Capasa, fresh from working in Japan as an assistant to Yohji Yamamoto. Along with a retail shop, the complex includes 2 other spaces – CNAC LAB and CNAC WALL.

CNAC LAB is a dedicated art space that will begin showing video artwork in October. But from now through the end of the month the space is encompassed by “Costume National: 25Years,” an exhibition designed by Ryuji Nakamura to showcase various archival looks that the brand has produced.
(check out all our posts on Ryuji Nakamura)

For the event, Nakamura has used over 4000 meters of polyester ribbon that functions like a lenticular print. Depending on where you stand, the ribbon can appear to be translucent to the point of non-existence, or it can appear to be opaque as a wall. As you approach the exhibition a curtain appears to close on all surrounding work so that, up close, you can only view a single piece at a time.

The other space – CNAC WALL – is a bar and terrace with a green wall created by Patrick Blanc. The vertical garden is reportedly his largest piece to-date in Japan and is comprised of over 100 species of plants that fit neatly together in 12 x 3 meters of lushness.