Tech accessories brand Casetify has opened its first “global flagship” store in Japan, opting for the city of Osaka to make the retail debut.
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Located in the dynamic neighbourhood of Shinsaibashi, the new Osaka store is the first Casetify store to be designed by Hong Kong-based architect André Fu, known for the design of Hotel The Mitsui Kyoto, Sézanne Restaurant at the Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo and others.
Inspired by the local landscape, the new Osaka store embodies the craftsmanship of traditional Japanese Shoji lanterns and the popping colours that the Hong Kong-based Casetify brand is known for.
Inside, the store hosts full-height shoji lanterns and cylindrical shoji screens and intertwining curved walls; creating a duplex universe where colours, form and graphics fold and unfold.
At the rear of the street level, there is a secret shoji window which slides and unveils the customer’s customised online purchase, embodying the brand’s customisation ethos.
‘It is an engaging opportunity to re-imagine the spirit of Casetify the context of contemporary Osaka with my personal aesthetics,” said Fu comments.
“A lot of my work is rooted in the idea of a journey that takes the contextual quality of each project into an architectural medium. The world of shoji lanterns that goes around you, that folds and unfolds, creates that effect. It transports you from the everyday reality of the neighborhood to an imaginary, illusionistic expression that blends a relaxed sense of luxury with the popping Casetify colours that the brand is so well known for.”
While the store is the first “global flagship” to open for Casetify, it is the second location for the brand in Osaka, with stores also in Tokyo, Nagoya, and Fukuoka.
In Asia-Pacific, Casetify is present in Australia, mainland China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand.