L.L.Bean’s Japan Collection Just Landed in the U.S.

If you’re an American brand with a single flagship store in Freeport, Maine, there are a lot of places one might consider a reasonable location for a second outpost. You could head a little further south and open up shop in Boston. Maybe head right to the center of things, fashion-wise, and give it a go in New York. Even taking things bi-coastal in San Francisco or L.A. doesn’t seem like too wild of an idea.

In 1992, L.L.Bean did none of those things. Instead, the purveyor of preppy and outdoorsy staples went 6,600 miles out of its way and opened a shop in Jiyugaoka, Tokyo. Madness? Not quite. The brand had noticed over the prior couple of years that more and more Japanese customers were visiting the flagship store. These weren’t tourists stopping by on a larger jaunt around the States; they were flying across the world for the express purpose of shopping at the brand founded by Leon Leonwood Bean in 1912. A major uptick in mail orders confirmed that L.L.Bean had found a committed fan base in Japan.

Since the opening of that original Tokyo store, the brand has expanded to 25 locations in Japan. It’s worked with beloved retailer Beams on exclusive versions of the Bean Boot and Boat and Tote for more than a decade. And it’s collaborated with brands like Neighborhood and artists like Hiroshi Wataya. And in all that time, the collection designed for the Japanese market has never made the trip back to the States.

That changes this weekend. At pop-up shops in Brooklyn (96 North 5th Street) and Los Angeles (8406 Melrose Ave), fans can get a taste of pieces like the Milo Anorak and Prospect Harbor Field Coat. They may look familiar, but they offer something a little different from L.L.Bean’s standard fare. The Field Coat, for instance, is offered in a range of muted shades like pale yellow (or “Light Lemon”) and dusty gray (“Shell”) and in done in an oversized cut that’ll be very friendly to multiple layers beneath it. There are also tees, trousers, and shorts from the collection—all of which blend old-school Americana with a touch of modern Japanese design.

With any luck, this is just a taste of things to come and we’ll get more drops from the Japan collection both in-person or online. In the meantime, if you can’t make it to one of the pop-ups, you could always borrow a page from the playbook of those Japanese Bean fans from the ’90s and book a ticket to Tokyo.