Outdoor apparel specialists The North Face have opened a new concept store, ‘The North Face Standard’, just up the street from the original shop in Harajuku. The narrow glass and steel building extends upwards four floors, making the most of the limited space available in the Tokyo.

Each of the four floors is designed around a specific concept and will change to reflect the products on sale.

Sleeping bags, lamps, hats – in fact everything an explorer or festival goer could need

The new concept store continues the brand’s expansion in Japan, following on from the Purple Label concept. The Standard store stocks everything from mountain jackets, to sleeping bags, camping equipment and limited edtion designer lines, the ground floor even features a tent set up ready for camping, decked out in the color and branding of the store.

Entering the concrete space, is more like entering a gallery or bar, particularly on the opening day as guests were handed North Face branded sake cups filled with Nihonshu.

The “Standard of Living Package” concept features robust, iconic and beautifully designed items

Interesting pieces included this Limited Edition, Comme des Garçons X North Face  jacket designed by Junya Watanabe and made from Gore Tex

The interior design is clean and simple, featuring creative uses of plain cardboard and a lot of whites

In this picture a packing box becomes an ingenious wardrobe. The top floor space has been designed to communicate the concept of the brand further. The room will function as a shared gallery space for artists and athletes to leave their mark.

Many items will not appear in regular outdoor stores, and some are exclusive to Japan. The line between practicality and high fashion has been blurred making the store accessible to the fashion conscious and pragmatic alike.

After the opening preview the larger North Face store just a short walk away was transformed into a dance floor, with a DJ and live music providing entertainment to the party-goers.

THE NORTH FACE STANDARD

Jinguumae6-10-9, Shibuya-ku
Tokyo, 150-0001
p: 03-5464-2831
Hours: 11:00-20:00