Korean sock label I Hate Monday tests Isetan Shinjuku with a pop-up before going permanent

Korean sock label I Hate Monday (アイヘイトマンデー) will open a pop-up at Isetan Shinjuku's main building from 2 to 8 September, on the first floor near the Isetan Seed goods area, ahead of converting to a permanent corner on 9 September, according to Beyond Cool (株式会社ビヨンクール), the brand's Japan distributor.

The pop-up runs 10am to 8pm and centres on the brand's mix-and-match socks, sold in three-packs at ¥2,200 on the premise that "three socks make one pair," letting shoppers combine odd designs rather than buy matched sets. Beyond Cool said the range on show will also stretch into scarves (¥6,600, in grey, brown, navy and olive), handkerchiefs (¥2,420, in three designs) and caps (¥6,600, in four styles). Each sock carries Korean lettering on the ankle that translates to "I hate Mondays," according to the distributor. The first 200 customers who buy two or more items during the pop-up week will receive either a branded gift box or a laundry net woven with a name label, the release said.

Beyond Cool brought I Hate Monday into the Japanese market roughly a year earlier, in July 2025, according to the company.

The sequence is the story as much as the products. Rather than signing straight for permanent floor space, the brand is using a one-week trading period to prove itself before Isetan commits a corner to it -- a low-risk trial that department stores increasingly favour for an unproven import, and one that lets a small accessories label widen its assortment beyond socks into scarves and caps without betting the full range on day one.