To mark its 10th anniversary, Tokyo-based label Graphpaper is stepping into Paris for the first time — not with a runway show, but something more private, and arguably more compelling. From June 26 to 29, the brand opens its first-ever pop-up store in the Marais, designed in collaboration with Parisian creative agency ILL-Studio.
The installation, titled Form Follows Fiction, explores how garments take on meaning through context. Clothes here are framed as living objects, shaped by memory, movement, and atmosphere that surrounds them. Across fragmented structures, post-minimal volumes and monochrome soundscapes, visitors are invited to experience Graphpaper’s clothing as vessels of identity and perception, rather than just style.
The spatial design draws inspiration from Graphpaper’s origin, the Aoyama flagship store, and the architectural philosophy behind it. It also draws further conceptual influence from Harald Szeemann’s landmark 1969 exhibition, “When Attitudes Become Form”.
Ahead of the opening, Graphpaper also released new visuals for its Basic Collection. Under the theme “Distinct yet Normal,” the lookbook highlights clean-lined, structured pieces shot against stark architectural backdrops. The collection emphasises value in consistency, with understated garments designed for contemporary urban life that stand out from the fleeting nature of trends.
In conversation with Schön!, Takayuki Minami, founder of Graphpaper, talks about the collaboration, the decision to land in Paris now, and what this new kind of retail space really means.
You’re introducing Graphpaper to Paris for the first time. Why now, and why here?
For me, Paris is a place where thought, form, and beauty are embedded and coexist with a quiet sense of presence. I’ve long felt that Graphpaper could naturally belong within that kind of atmosphere. This project wasn’t driven by strategy or timing, but rather an idea that was nurtured for a long time and now, instinctively, it felt ready. That’s why it had to be this season, and in Paris.
How did the collaboration with ILL Studio come about, and what made you want to partner with them specifically?
I was introduced to Thomas Subreville of ILL-Studio from a mutual friend, and right from the start I felt an uncanny sense that we already shared a common language. ILL-Studio creates spaces that speak less and evoke more. Where light, form, and memory dissolve into one another. Their ambiguity, their narrative sense. It all resonated deeply with how we approach clothing.
What can visitors expect from the space at Rue Chapon? And how does it reflect both Graphpaper’s and ILL-Studio’s DNA?
At Rue Chapon, visitors will step into a space shaped by ILL-Studio’s concept and our shared sensibility. The idea is not to present clothing as a finished product, but as something that transforms through context — through sound, movement, proximity, and atmosphere. We see clothing as a dynamic presence, something that is embedded within its surroundings and gains new meanings through interaction. That idea is deeply aligned with both Graphpaper’s understated approach to design and ILL-STUDIO’s sensitivity to space and ambiguity. Rather than delivering a clear message, the space invites visitors to pause — to grasp something that goes beyond language. If after visitors leave, a residual impression remains in their memory, then the space has served its purpose.
Graphpaper is known for its meticulous approach to proportion and detail. How does that translate in this co-designed environment?
In clothing, proportion is an invisible tension. The angle of a shoulder seam, the amount of fabric around the chest, the arrangement of visual elements in the design — these subtle relationships form a kind of grammar. Therefore visitors to the installation may find commonalities between the dynamics of the environment we’ve constructed and the design language Graphpaper uses in its clothing.
How involved were you personally in the creative direction of the space, and what was it like working with Thomas Subreville from ILL-Studio?
The spatial concept was envisioned by ILL-Studio. I see my role more as a listener, and someone responding by adding materiality in the form of our brand’s products to the space. Though the installation itself is not yet fully constructed, there’s been a rich dialogue between us exchanging thoughts and reflections. Naturally, an unspoken trust has developed through the realisation of this project.
What does this collaboration mean to you? What was your favourite moment during the creation of the pieces?
For Graphpaper, the attempt to create not just clothing but an entire “setting” that includes space itself in Paris is a significant challenge. Just like when we make garments, the question is whether we can also give space room to breathe. We’re once again facing these kinds of sensory questions head-on. What struck me most was the moment I saw Thomas’s initial sketch. What was there wasn’t a description of volume, but a rhythm of sorts. The installation hasn’t even begun, and yet it already feels like a memory. Perhaps that is the essence of collaboration.
Tokyo and Paris are two cities with very distinct creative energies. In what ways do you see them aligning (or clashing)?
In Tokyo, speed and stillness coexist, while in Paris, time and depth are deeply rooted. On the surface, the two cities may appear quite different, but I feel that both possess a kind of strength found within contemplation. Creation is always a process of finding something within this notion of dissonance. Perhaps the dialogue between Tokyo and Paris also begins by standing in the interstice.
Finally, what’s next for Graphpaper after Paris? Can we expect more international activations or collaborations?
At Graphpaper, we want our clothes to stay close — quietly supportive, wherever they find themselves. For this project in Paris, we were able to revisit the question of how we might connect not just with physical spaces, but with people’s senses and their experience of time. Moving forward, we hope to continue building points of connection with the world — gradually, in the right places, with the right people, at the right time.
Find out more here.
photography. Graphpaper
words. Gennaro Costanzo
