After opening two stores in Kyoto, Aesop shifts its focus towards Osaka, the biggest city in the Kansai region. The Australian cosmetics brand has opened a signature store in the downtown area of Shinsaibashi. It’s a renewed collab with architect Shinichiro Ogata of Tokyo-based practice Simplicity who has created an interior that takes cues from the neighbourhood’s history. The retail setting is infused with industrial elements, referencing the era when time when an important timber yard was situated in the area and its streets were lined with many storehouses.

The lofty ceilings are clad with latticed weathered-timber shelves and accented with elements of blackened steel. Chosen for its local historical significance, this material references the iron bridge that once connected the north and south districts within Osaka’s Chuo ward. The new store carries the brand’s full range of body, skin and hair care products. A second aesop store in the city is due to open late next month.

http://superfuture.com/supernews/osaka-aesop-store-opening