Electrical engineers arrive at an abandoned factory to chase strange signals. That is the premise of The Factory at Night, an original manga that Maison Margiela commissioned to mark the 20th anniversary of its Tokyo flagship in Ebisu. The artist is Takehito Moriizumi, a Tokyo-based illustrator. He drew the entire story with a toothpick, making it a toothpick drawing from first panel to last.
The science-fiction narrative turns the building’s history into a comic. The publication is a limited-edition zine that combines manga illustration, architecture, fashion, and storytelling. It forms part of the house‘s wider anniversary celebrations.
A factory that becomes a character
In this work, the story opens when a group of researchers enters a derelict electronics factory. They have been sent to examine signals detected inside. As they move through the building, they find traces of its former working life.
Machinery, exposed wiring, industrial frames, and staircases fill the pages. Scraps of everyday objects lie among them. The investigation leads to a change that brings something new into the space without wiping out what was already there.
Inside the book
His manga works in detailed black-and-white linework. Architecture dominates most compositions. Tangled structural frames, overlapping staircases, and suspended platforms surround the characters, so the building feels almost like a presence in its own right.
Toothpick drawing demands the same patience found in Japanese handmade pencils, explored in Japanese Craftsmanship Behind Handcrafted Blackwing Pencils for readers curious about meticulous making.
The artist alternates between wide architectural views and close, panel-based scenes that focus on the people inside. Mannequins and garments appear throughout, along with references to the history of the house. The fashion content ties the fictional factory back to the brand.
From electronics plant to fashion store
The Tokyo store sits in a former electrical control equipment factory at 2-8-13 Ebisu Minami. The house took over the building in 2006. Its Tokyo story starts earlier, in 2000.
That year, Martin Margiela chose a 1940s traditional Japanese house in Ebisu for the brand’s first retail store. The shop opened in September 2000, away from Ginza and Omotesando, the city’s established luxury districts. The location reflected the designer’s long ties to Japan. He and the Antwerp Six had visited the country often through the 1980s and 1990s.
The house was transformed through Bianchetto, the brand’s signature practice of painting objects and surfaces white. Furniture, architectural elements, and even the property’s tree stumps were coated in white paint. The original bathroom and shared spaces were kept.
When the store moved in 2006, it relocated to another former factory, a five-minute walk away. The approach stayed the same. The team kept elements of the building’s industrial past in the new retail space rather than removing them.
Former industrial buildings find new life in this story too, as seen in Iconic Power Stations Reborn as Creative Spaces, which shows decommissioned plants reimagined as striking places to work and play.
The old industrial goods elevator became a set of fitting rooms. A shipping container holds the men’s collection. Used shoeboxes were stacked to build the corridor leading to the shoe section. Doors, display cases, and furniture were gathered from flea markets and shops across Europe and shipped to Tokyo. Parts of the original residential store, including its former family bathroom, were rebuilt inside the new site. The two buildings are physically linked through these pieces.
A zine and a digital edition
The manga is part of MaisonMargiela/folders, a project that records the house’s history, creative identity, and relationship with its neighborhood. The first volume of The Factory at Night, a work drawn with a toothpick, is due on November 5, 2026. It will be sold as a limited-edition zine at selected newsstands in Ebisu and at the Maison Margiela Tokyo store. A digital edition will also be available internationally through Dropbox.
Source: designboom.com
Frequently asked questions
Who drew The Factory at Night manga?
The manga was drawn by Takehito Moriizumi, a Tokyo-based illustrator. He drew the entire story with a toothpick, so every panel is a toothpick drawing.
When and where can I buy The Factory at Night zine?
The first volume is due on November 5, 2026, as a limited-edition zine. It will be sold at selected newsstands in Ebisu and at the Maison Margiela Tokyo store, and a digital edition will be available internationally through Dropbox.
Where is the Maison Margiela Tokyo store located?
The Tokyo store is at 2-8-13 Ebisu Minami and sits in a former electrical control equipment factory. The house took over the building in 2006.
What is The Factory at Night about?
The story follows a group of researchers who enter a derelict electronics factory to examine signals detected inside. As they explore, they find traces of the building’s former working life and uncover a change that brings something new into the space.
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