Fashion’s favourite architect, Masamichi Katayama of Wonderwall, on the role of store design in luring shoppers

The otaku (obsessive enthusiast) mentality is nothing new in Japan. This feverish devotion – often seen in manga and J-pop fans – takes on an awe-inspiring quality when it manifests itself in a design studio. Architect Masamichi Katayama’s Tokyo studio Wonderwall is full of such obsessives.

Why street style is over, in the eyes of one of its original stars, and the menswear trends he’s seeing in Hong Kong and Japan

Before an interior design is realised, a team of artisans under the direction of Katayama hand-makes miniature model designs with painstaking attention to detail – a chair the size of a fingertip is crafted out of extremely thin wooden shavings.

“We’re sensitive about everything from every angle. Otaku mentality is very Japanese,” says 51-year-old Katayama. “And it’s about craftsmanship. Craftsmanship is not only creating to fulfil other people, but also creating to fulfil yourself.”

Even if his name doesn’t ring a bell, you have probably been inside a space designed by him. They include fast-fashion chain Uniqlo’s flagship stores in Paris, London, New York, Berlin, Shanghai, and Tokyo, and one-offs such as Nike’s Air Max installation at the Tokyo National Museum in March 2017. He is the go-to interior designer for Japan’s fashion industry.

In the past few years alone, Katayama has designed stores in Tokyo for fashion labels Verbal and Yoon’s Ambush, and for United Arrows in the city’s Roppongi Hills. He designed French patisserie Pierre Hermé’s Tokyo store, and redesigned it last year.

Why street style is over, in the eyes of one of its original stars, and the menswear trends he’s seeing in Hong Kong and Japan

Katayama’s first foray into designing stores for the fashion industry came 20 years ago, when he designed the groundbreaking store for cult street wear designer Nigo’s line A Bathing Ape. Five books have been written about his vision for retail spaces, and he has worked with fashion labels such as Thom Browne, Diesel, and A.P.C.

So how did a self-confessed “bad student” from Okayama in southwestern Japan end up designing international spaces for fashion’s biggest names?