An industrial pleating machine is the focal point of Issey Miyake's Homme Plissé flagship store, which has opened in Tokyo, Japan.
The store is located in Tokyo's affluent Aoyama neighbourhood and is the first flagship for the Homme Plissé brand by Issey Miyake.
Launched in 2013, it exclusively produces micro-pleated items of clothing in lightweight fabrics that are meant to make wearers more comfortable.
When it came to creating the store's interiors, Japanese designer Tokujin Yoshioka was keen to hint at the "fun and surprise" of monozukuri – the Japanese term for manufacturing or the process of making things.
"I wanted to create a space that shows a documentary-like scene where clothing is created. I didn't follow the concept of current interior design, where everything is made to perfection," explained Yoshioka.
"Through my thirty years of collaborations with Issey Miyake, I learned that the appeal of their brand is in the creation process of their clothing – there exists its spirit."
At the rear of the 225-square-metre store is a huge pleating machine, closed off by floor-to-ceiling glass panels.
Members of staff will operate the machine during particular hours of the day, allowing customers an up-close insight into how the brand's clothes are fabricated.
An artwork that Yoshioka specially created for the store has been mounted on an adjacent wall, which features four dark-coloured shirts pressed between two pleated sheets of translucent paper.
Surrounding surfaces in the store are exposed concrete, while garments are hung from thin steel frames or folded atop black display plinths. Customers can also relax on simple grey seating poufs.
Tokujin Yoshioka worked under Issey Miyake before setting up his own studio in the year 2000. However, since then the designer has gone on to collobrate on a number of projects with the brand.
These include developing the interiors of its London flagship, which features giant red triangles above clothing rails, and making a series of transparent mannequins for the brand's exhibition in Tokyo's National Art Center.
Yoshioka has most recently unveiled his design for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games torch, which is meant to resemble a Japanese cherry blossom.