Japan’s Global Touch: Inside IDÉE’s New Direction
Japanese home interiors icon IDÉE introduces the newest campaign in its New Direction series, a celebration of life, creativity, nature and the juxtaposition of nostalgia and modernity
IDÉE, the pioneering Japanese retailer we know today, has a history that might come as a surprise, starting its life in 1975 as an importer of antiques from London. Founded as Kurosaki Trading Company, it opened its first store on Antique Street in Tokyo’s Minamiaoyama neighbourhood in 1985.
Today, IDÉE brings a highly curated product range — often from small producers and craftspeople — to a globally minded audience. In addition to its own stores, such as its flagship in Tokyo’s Jiyugaoka neighbourhood, the brand’s products can be found at select MUJI outlets in Japan, as well as in key international locations. The brand also operates IDÉE CAFÉ PARC, its own dining concept at Tokyo Midtown Galleria where customers can experience the brand at a slower pace.
IDÉE has taken shape in a variety of formats, from exhibitions in Milan, New York, London, Tokyo and Berlin to pop-ups and verticals such as Délier IDÉE, IDÉE SHOP VARIÉTÉ, IDÉE Life in Art and IDÉE GARAGE. It’s this globetrotting ambition that’s helped IDÉE become known as a key connector between the global design industry and the curious Japanese consumer.
This celebration of creativity has expanded to fresh pursuits such as LIFECYCLING, an ongoing storytelling series focused on the lives of creative professionals spread across the globe. Edited by IDÉE director Tadatomo Oshima, the series is based on both interviews and intimate photography of its subjects’ workspaces and homes. IDÉE has also published a printed LIFECYCLING compendium to accompany the stories published on its website.
As part of its ethos of creating authentic spaces for the lives of the people who inhabit them, IDÉE has also begun to evolve its approach to advertising campaigns, marking a shift in how it articulated its brand values to a changing consumer mindset. Branded ‘New Direction’, the series consists of four original photo shoots each year, styled and photographed by a pair of external creatives, with the goal of bringing a fresh set of eyes to each campaign.
In 2024, the brand collaborated with Melbourne-based photographer Benjamin Hosking and Design Anthology creative director Jeremy Smart to produce a new campaign branded Newstalgia. A portmanteau of ‘new’ and ‘nostalgia’, the brief asked the duo to explore the harmony between nature, craft and folk tools — shaped by the hands of anonymous makers and an invisible cultural context — contrasted with the contemporary residence and the technology, techniques and materials found within it.
This edition of the New Direction series continues the brand’s long-running purpose to bring a creative and cultural foundation to the modern residential environment, introducing a range of original furniture from designers in Japan and around the world, along with a selection of textiles, greenery, music and books to a curious, worldly customer looking for a more considered way of living.
Images by Benjamin Hosking
Styling by Jeremy Smart
