Another shop is LOVELESS, a select shop showcasing rising designers, artists and brands from around the world with the theme of ‘high end’ and ‘cutting edge’. “We wanted to express our philosophy, so we thought we would select the things that can stimulate people’s imagination more than a book covering the clothes sold in this shop.” This select shop thinks it’s important to backup the director’s philosophy with books. With the first glance, you see many picture books on the theme of the “Body”. This is based of the concept of ‘rock and glamorous’. The concept is reflected not only in its contents but by the book itself (ex. excessive binding), and only then is the present selection is finalised. They are planning to increase the selection of books related to ‘rock’ and ‘fashion’, and create a space filled with this theme. Old books set off new books and vice versa. Here too, no distinction is made between old and new books. Due to the good location of Eguchi is discussing with another director whether to make this space more general or more specialised in “fashion”, where people can drop in to browse fashion magazines.

LOVELESS

Afterwards, I asked myself what lies in the meaning of a selected “book”. If it’s a book shop, where the same books are sold at the same price as other shops, the point would be ‘how to display them’. If it’s a select shop of clothes, the selection should backup the shop concept, for example, who the target isor how the shop wants to express their philosophy. What is common in both shops is simply the thought that ‘having your own selection is an easier way to express the idea of the shop to customers’. “Several years ago, a select book shop was regarded as a place that dealt with only ‘fashionable Western books’, but nowadays such shops select books based on their concept. I think this is the reason that these shops, which are completely different from a general book shop, are growing.

LOVELESS

Finally, I asked Eguchi about the difference between his own shop “utrecht” and these two shops. “The select shops have their own unique philosophy so I can only add my sense to them. Utrecht, in contrast, is like a exhibition of ‘shame’ and I display only what I like. It’s a bit embarrassing but there is no stress.” By working for other shops, he is able to put more emphasis on what he likes rather than profitability for Utrecht. He hopes to make Utrecht a place where can stock his ever changing interest.

BOOK246
Address: 1F Lattice Aoyama, 1-2-6 Minamiaoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo
Open: 11:00 – 23:00
Tel: +81 (0)3 5771 6899
https://www.book246.com

LOVELESS
Address: 3-17-11 Minamiaoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo
Open: 12:00 – 22:00
Tel: +81 (0)3 3401 2301
https://www.loveless-shop.jp