Stylus is the new B2B design site from Marc Worth. My first piece for them looks at the Pass The Baton recycle shops.

“Omotesando is Tokyo’s big-brand boulevard on which Louis Vuitton, Prada, Dior and many more have built architecturally dazzling flagship stores. Since April 2010 it has also been home to Pass The Baton, a shop that deals in used goods, dead stock and factory rejects.
Though founder Masamichi Toyama says he likes the perception gap between his “recycle shop” and the street’s luxury reputation, in truth Pass The Baton (PTB) is a great fit. The store gives second lives to products but markets them not as money-saving options for the thrifty, but as premium items for discerning consumers.”

“Renzo Rosso is a floppy-haired fiftysomething who would blend in perfectly on a porn set, but instead runs Diesel S.p.A., the casual clothing megabrand.

Standing in his fancy new Aoyama gallery he’s admiring “Black Wind crosses meadow,” an artwork by Hiroki Tsukuda consisting of “mixed media and stuffed deer.” The ex-stag is wearing a black bomber jacket and plastic face mask, giving it the look of a cervine Darth Vader. Cheeky, playful and slightly disrespectful: It’s very Diesel.

“Yeah, I was impressed when I saw this because I just bought a big horse for my house,” says Rosso in his fantastically thick Italian accent. “A horse with a lamp. But I think this is much better than that. I want to buy this.”"

“Tokyo’s densely populated Setagaya ward is a tough charge for architects. With close to a million denizens sharing this 22-square-mile patch abutting the iconic neon core of the capital, extensive zoning regulations keep the skyline in check—and sometimes govern the layout of interiors—meaning there isn’t much room for play. But in a bold new residence local firm Atelier Bow-Wow has navigated the restrictions with eye-popping results.”

Photos: Edmund Sumner