The Japanese History of Martin Margiela's First Boutique
In late January, I decided to do some firsthand investigating into the site of the first ever Martin Margiela boutique, which oddly enough did not open in Paris, Antwerp, or even Brussels, but rather Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo was a place both Martin and the Antwerp Six visited often in the late 80s and 90s, sometimes accompanied by and meeting with Comme des Garçons team members, as well as Rei Kawakubo herself (cited by Walter Van Beirendonck in a 2019 interview on The Most Podcast).
The flagship boutique opened in the relatively quiet Ebisu neighborhood of Shibuya-Ku in 2000, about a 7 minute walk from Ebisu station. The location, 3-3-3 Ebisuminami, is and was a peculiar one, residing on a hilly, quiet street just off the main road, with an imposing, fully reflective apartment building designed by Takeo Satou visible at the end of the street.
Rather than a commercial space, Martin selected an abandoned Showa-era traditional Japanese home. The space was a 945 square foot home built in 1945, and later renovated to a Western style home in the 1980s. The label would use the space both for their first global retail space as well as offices for Margiela’s Japanese distribution & partner company, Kokonoe Corp Ltd. ( ここのえ), and the boutique would formally open its doors to the public on September 22, 2000.
Scanned image of the original Martin Margiela boutique at 3-3-3 Ebisuminami
Maki Shinozaki, writing in Studio Voice, December 2000, said this about the choice of location: "This is where the choice of Ebisu as a location becomes especially imporant; the decision of where in Japan to locate Martin's first flagship store in the world is important because the act itself is perceived as a work of art." Shinozaki would go on to describe the location as beyond those of luxury multi-retailers like Isetan and Barneys, or the burgeoning streetwear scene in Ura-Harajuku: "Ebisu seems like a very neutral place." Fashion trend analyst Toru Kanayama described Ebisu at the time as a "Gray zone", one that was catered towards core consumers, rather than mass volume near Shibuya station.
Regarding the store/house itself, Shinozaki goes on to describe it as having walls graffitied with child-like Japanese phrases, such as '女性のためのベーシックな服' (Basics for Women), as well as having videos of various collections playing in the basement. On the roof were white balloons, and tree trunks on the property were painted completely white. Tabi footprints guided visitors into and throughout the store. Shinozaki compares the experience to Yves Klein's blue installations, but this time in white (recipes for white colored food were even presented in boutique).
A Kokonoe construction helmet at Archive Store, Shibuya
The house would later be demolished, and the boutique moved in February of 2006 to its current location at 2-8-13 Ebisuminami, about a 5 minute walk away. The current boutique pays homage to the original, recreating the tabi footprints, various white painted furniture, and perhaps most importantly, recreated the family bathroom of the original home, which served as the point of entrance at 3-3-3 Ebisuminami.
The current site of 3-3-3 Ebisuminami, which has been rebuilt into an office
While the charm and intrigue of the original boutique is long gone, perhaps we can take solace in the continuity of the current boutique, both in regards to location and spirit. Although, much like the brand itself these days, inconspicuousness seems like something lost in the fray.
