Levi’s leans on Kyoto’s heritage for store revamp
US denim brand Levi’s will reopen its Kyoto shopfront, now complete with an in-built Levi’s Tailor Shop, on March 15.
Now with four floors of retail space, the renovated boutique brings Levi’s total number of Japanese customisation stations – known as “tailor shops” – to six, local media have reported. It is located in the Higashigawacho area of the city’s Nakagyo ward.
Decorations unique to the store include lanterns made by traditional Kyoto workshop Kojima Shoten, which dates to between 1789 and 1801, using special karakami papers produced by another local business, Karacho, itself founded in Japan's then capital in 1624.
Alongside reissues of earlier Levi’s 501 jean styles, first-floor vintage clothing options include gilets and more from Chingireya, well-known for its stock of antique fabrics such as sakiori-woven recycled textiles.
In celebration of the reopening, store-exclusive 501s customised by the likes of Japanese-born fashion stylist Akio Hasegawa will be available for purchase, as will a 501-embroidered pair, rendered in calligraphic style on the back pocket by Kyoto artist Ryosuke Aruse. This same “501” calligraphy has been screen-printed on t-shirts.
Personalisation patches by illustrator and local resident Hideto Honda are also in stock on the first floor.
Image: Levi’s.
