The most fashion forward city in Asia(or arguably in the world), Tokyo, has mega fashion brands fighting for attention. Architects who are known for their museums, schools and stadiums are snapped up by major fashion houses to design their (flagship) stores. Provoked by Prada’s flagship store (Herzog de Meuron, 2003), towers were erected like monuments with all varieties of facades imaginable in areas like Ginza and Omotesando. The competition between the brands here doesn’t lie in the ‘it‘ bag but in the facades of the store and the star architects who built them.

clockwise from top left: Tod’s by Toyo Ito, Chanel by Peter Marino, Hermes by Renzo Piano, Dior by Sanaa, Prada by Herzog de Mueron, Armani Ginza Tower by Doriana and Massimiliano Fuksas, Gucci by James Carpenter, Louis Vuitton by Jun Aoki