L.L. Bean’s Japan Collection Makes Its Stateside Debut
Since its founding in 1912, classic outfitter L.L Bean has been synonymous with its home state of Maine. But for decades, it’s enjoyed popularity not just in Vacationland, but in the Land of the Rising Sun, where a separate Japanese division of the company has operated for more than 30 years. And starting next week, L.L. Bean Japan will be sold stateside for the very first time via pop-up shops planned for Los Angeles and Brooklyn.
The seeds of this full-circle moment were planted in the early ‘90s, when L.L. Bean noticed an influx of Japanese customers to its flagship store in Freeport, Maine. Before long, company higher-ups realized that these weren’t just tourists passing between Boston and Bar Harbor: L.L. Bean itself was the destination, spurred on by a budding Japanese obsession for its famed mail-order catalog. So. L.L. Bean did the natural thing and met its newest customers where they were, opening a store in Tokyo—its first retail location outside of Maine—in 1992.
More from Robb Report
Inside the Lavish Thailand Villas Featured on 'The White Lotus' Season 3
A 3,800-Year-Old Egyptian Amulet Was Just Found by a Toddler Near Jerusalem
Game of Clones? A Biotech Start-Up Just Resurrected the Dire Wolf 10,000 Years After Extinction
Although these stores were separated by two oceans and over 6,600 miles, L.L. Bean Japan proliferated at a rapid clip, and expanded its retail footprint to 25 locations today (most importantly, the Japanese business even got the keys to a Bootmobile of its own). Its success likely owed something to the 1965 publication of Take Ivy, a photobook compiled by the Japanese photographer Teruyoshi Hayashida that depicted American college students in their ivy-covered natural habitats, cuffed khakis and all.
However, L.L. Bean Japan was not just a copy-and-paste transplant of the U.S. business. While its styles were rooted in the heritage maker’s classics designs, they soon took on a uniquely Japanese quality of their own.
“While both markets share the same core DNA––heritage, function and quality––the Japan collections often reflect a more curated, slightly more fashion-forward approach,” says Amanda Hannah, L.L.Bean’s Head of Brand Engagement and External Communications.
“In Japan, L.L.Bean pieces are often reinterpreted with updated silhouettes and influences from streetwear and minimalist design. It’s a remix of classic Americana through a distinctly Japanese lens, blending tradition with innovation in a way that feels both familiar and entirely new,” Hannah continues.
That East-meets-West quality is expressed in L.L. Bean Japan Collection pieces like the Prospect Harbor Field Coat, a sort of cousin to the label’s classic barn coat marked by an oversized fit and springy, earth-toned colorways like light lemon, sandbar and ice blue. Other standouts from the twenty-plus piece curation include striped Union Crewneck tees, oversized Milo Anoraks and Milo Pull-On-Shorts with contrast-color elasticated bands.
“The collection showcases hallmarks of Japanese design––precision in construction, understated elegance, and a deep respect for utility,” Hannah says of it in sum. “Oversized silhouettes, natural fits, and layered styling reflect Japan’s approach to comfort and movement, while unique color palettes and subtle design details give each piece a quiet sophistication.”
L.L. Bean Japan—and in particular, its collaborations with other Japanese labels including Beams, which have sold exclusive Bean Boot colorways and Boat and Tote designs in the past—have long been sought by American collectors, who had to either find them on online resale markets like eBay or else solicit Japanese consumers to buy them on their behalf, a practice known as “proxy buying.” But the Los Angeles and Brooklyn pop-ups—based at 8406 Melrose Ave and 96 North 5th Street respectively, and running from April 10-11 in the case of Los Angeles and April 11-13 for Brooklyn—will showcase the L.L. Bean Japan Collection strictly in real life: there are no plans for the collection to be sold online.
When asked if there might be further pop-up dates in the future, Hannah responds that “No additional pop-ups are planned right now, but it’s definitely not out of the question.”
However, L.L. Bean has a history of giving its biggest fans what they want—we’ll see if history repeats itself once again.
Best of Robb Report
Sign up for RobbReports's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
