Hipsters of the World, Unite!

Rebellion via consumption comes to Tokyo

November 28, 2005—We don't know too many people who refer to themselves unironically as hipsters, but then, we don't live in Tokyo. The city's aggressively trendy Harajuku neighborhood recently welcomed a three-story retail behemoth bearing the wonderfully lost-in-translation moniker Tokyo Hipsters Club. The space is, actually, pretty hip—it's the first interior designed by Tom Dixon, the British brain behind the Habitat UK label. Industrial materials and salvaged ephemera evoke an independent spirit, while the men's collection is devoted to military-inspired items such as duffel jackets and cargo pants. Highlights include pieces by up-and-coming talent like menswear designer Nobukuni Taishi, and custom bikes from Zero Engineering (Clooney and Pitt each have one). Things get a bit surreal, however, when THC's ultradesirable wares mingle with guileless affection for radicals such as Ho Chi Minh and, of course, Che Guevara (whose flowery quote, "If you tremble with indignation at every injustice then you are a comrade of mine," adorns the store's Web page). The clothes and space are definitely cool, but it's difficult to determine the target of all this rebelliousness—conspicuous consumption, perhaps?
Tokyo Hipsters Club, 6-16-23 Jingumae, 81 (0)3-5778-2081, www.tokyohipstersclub.com