Our adventure began at Narita Airport, where a sleek black Charles & Keith luxury minivan came to pick us up. There would turn out to be an entire fleet of these cars, ready to chauffeur around the brand’s guests who had come to Japan from all over the world—London, Dubai, Seoul, Sydney, Singapore, Manila, New York and more.
At the hotel, located in the bustling, vibrant, fashionable district of Shibuya, check-in staff handed guests their key cards inside personalized Charles & Keith card holders.
Inside the hotel rooms, more surprises. There were pretty flowers arranged by Hitoshi Konai, the skilled florist who runs the Tokyo-based flower shop Voice. A package was beautifully wrapped in furoshiki featuring Charles & Keith’s new monogram. The furoshiki was handmade by Takasha Aoki at Happiness in Shinjuku.
We undid the knots to reveal a wooden box bearing the words “Charles & Keith” and inside the box were sweet treats by traditional Japanese confectionary maker Kogetsu—premium senju senbei or sugar cream-filled celebratory sandwich waffles, each one also bearing Charles & Keith’s name.
On each guest’s bed, a big box was waiting. Inside were pieces from L’initial, Charles & Keith’s recently launched premium line, along with a notecard, notebook and pencils highlighting the brand’s new logo, emblem and monogram.
New graphic identity
Charles & Keith’s new graphic identity, introduced earlier this year, was created by award-winning French art director Fabien Baron of Baron & Baron, whose storied career includes reinventing major fashion magazines and shaping the visual identities of global brands. The new logo, emblem and monogram were created to embody the Charles & Keith brand DNA—accessible and aspirational, approachable and timeless, classic and modern.
What started as a single shoe shop in Singapore in 1996 has really grown into a global brand.
“Charles & Keith is pleased to welcome you to Tokyo for the opening of its new flagship store in Shibuya,” the note read. While the flagship launch was the main event, Charles & Keith had prepared other exciting experiences for its guests.
Even meals were given that special Charles & Keith flavor. At lunch at Daigo, the Michelin-starred restaurant known for exquisite vegetarian food, dishes were served on Charles & Keith serving trays, table napkins were embroidered and coasters were embossed with the Charles & Keith emblem.
Street style shoot
After lunch, global style stars including actors and social media personalities hit the streets of Shibuya for a photo shoot with Momo Angela, a celebrated Japanese street style photographer who is a favorite of Vogue and whose work takes her to Fashion Week in the world’s most stylish capitals.
It was a chance to see Charles & Keith’s L’initial bags and shoes in action. Artist and content creator Angelina Cruz who flew from the Philippines for the event was styled by Francis Chee. She wore a three-piece denim outfit by designer Kristine Ordinario and black stockings with the Charles & Keith black leather cut out T-bar sandals and black leather boxy bag, both from the brand’s L’initial collection.
After the shoot, the Charles & Keith cars swept us off in style and comfort to Trunk Hotel Cat Street, also in Shibuya for a workshop with Cote Mer and Charles & Keith.
Cote Mer workshop
Norio Sato started the Shibuya-based brand after being inspired by seeing old kimonos sold at flea markets in Tokyo. Sato, who traveled regularly to California as a vintage jeans buyer, thought about repurposing decades-old kimonos by combining them with more modern pieces like denim jackets. Over ten years later, his brand Cote Mer has become synonymous with one-of-a-kind pieces that mix old and new—from bomber jackets and baseball shirts to hats and pants.
That afternoon, we were going to design our own Cote Mer kimono shirts with a Charles & Keith touch. “First, you pick your shirt size and color and then you pick your strips of vintage kimono fabrics as well as strips of Charles & Keith monogram fabric,” we were told. The monogram fabrics were left over from production of the L’initial spring collection pieces like the tie-around ballet flats seen on Charles & Keith global ambassador Han So Hee and also our favorite ruched-strap sandals.
“You’ll be upcycling these fabric strips for a very special edition t-shirt. Just have fun with it.”
Everyone enjoyed trying to figure out their color and design combinations, with the more daring of the lot even cutting their own fabric strips. Sato was there with his team, expertly cutting the shirts and sewing them back together with the kimono pieces and Charles & Keith fabric, creating unique shirts for each workshop participant.
Sustainability
The workshop was a trip highlight for Cruz. “I liked how they incorporated used kimonos and leftover fabrics. I like how sustainability played a role in that,” she said.
Sustainability is important to Charles & Keith. Along with their refreshed graphic identity, they also debuted new product packaging, using responsibly sourced materials like recycled sugarcane pulp for their shopping bags and shoe boxes.
Dinner was at the super cool Shibuya izakaya Censu, which opened just last year, where a kimono-clad DJ played songs behind a Charles & Keith booth as guests drank sake, yuzu sour and plum sour and feasted on dishes like snapper sashimi, caramel butter corn, zucchini flower tempura and Wagyu steak.
Highlight
The meals were also a highlight for Cruz. She said, “I got to really try different Japanese cuisine. And at the same time, I got to bond with the Charles and Keith team and really get to know them. I’m having a great time. We were really spoiled by Charles & Keith.”
Lunch the next day was at Michelin-starred Tofuya Ukai which specializes in tofu dishes. Located at the foot of the Tokyo Tower, this restaurant’s setting is incredibly picturesque, with a lush Japanese garden and koi pond.
Displayed inside the resto on beautiful Japanese shelves were pieces from Charles & Keith’s L’initial line—the silver leather metallic boxy bag, the leather sculptural-heel mules, the black leather and canvas monogram boxy bag, leather & denim pointed-toe flats, mesh kitten-heel pumps and more.
Over dishes like deep-fried tofu with miso and homemade fresh tofu with seaweed and seasoned soy milk, we chatted with Bea Arboleda, a content creator from the Philippines who says she’s been a fan of Charles & Keith for a long time. Arboleda often posts about the brand on her social media accounts and even had a video of her collection of Charles & Keith bags go viral.
Versatile
“Their pieces are so versatile. You can wear them to literally everything—office, school, parties, everything in your life, all your events,” she said.
Cruz agrees. “They complement anything you wear really because their pieces are very timeless and very effortless. If you feel like going for a laidback classic look, Charles & Keith is the perfect thing for you. But if you also plan on looking trendy or experimental, Charles & Keith is also really nice to wear. They go along with pretty much everything.”
We witnessed this at the opening of Charles & Keith’s Shibuya flagship store (and the brand’s 19th store in Japan) which was created in collaboration with world-renowned David Chipperfield Architects Milan.
There, guests wore their favorite Charles & Keith L’initial pieces and pieces from the brand’s spring collection, styling them in a variety of ways—cool and minimalist, sweet and sophisticated, laidback and casual, fun and funky. It’s true to the brand’s vision of empowering all women and giving them the confidence to express themselves.
