By Jessica Ye (Jessica Yap)
By now, stepping into a Gentle Monster store rarely feels like entering a conventional retail space. Somewhere between contemporary art installation, futuristic showroom and sensory spectacle, the South Korean eyewear label has built an identity around making people pause before they even look at the eyewear itself.
That instinct continues with the opening of its second Malaysian flagship at Suria KLCC, arriving alongside the upcoming launch of the 2026 Veggie Collection, a surreal series of folding eyewear inspired by the forms, colours and textures of vegetables.
Following the successful debut of its first Malaysian flagship at The Exchange TRX, the new KLCC store further expands Gentle Monster’s growing footprint in Southeast Asia while continuing the brand’s fascination with immersive retail experiences that blur the boundaries between fashion, art and technology.
Located on the ground floor of Suria KLCC, the flagship introduces visitors to a refreshed experiential concept anchored by the striking ‘GIANT HEAD’ kinetic installation developed by the Gentle Monster Robotics Lab. Composed of three sculptural heads in continuous motion, the piece explores subtle shifts in emotion and perception through blinking eyelids, moving pupils and contemplative gestures, creating an atmosphere that feels simultaneously futuristic and slightly uncanny.
Inside, the space houses a curated selection of Gentle Monster’s signature eyewear collections alongside upcoming seasonal releases including the highly anticipated 2026 Veggie Collection, set to launch on June 5 globally, as well as both the Suria KLCC and The Exchange TRX stores.
If earlier Gentle Monster collections often leaned heavily into sleek futurism and cyber-inspired aesthetics, the Veggie Collection introduces a more playful energy without abandoning the sculptural precision the brand has become known for. Comprised of ten compact folding eyewear designs, the collection transforms vegetable-inspired silhouettes, colours and stem-like details into something unexpectedly refined and distinctly Gentle Monster.
Curved frames echo organic produce forms while vivid accents subtly reference the colours and textures of vegetables, balancing whimsy with structural sharpness. The collection’s folding construction also introduces an added layer of portability without compromising the bold silhouettes that define the series.
The accompanying campaign starring Karina of Aespa and multihyphenate creative Yosh further amplifies the collection’s surrealist world. Set against barren landscapes and dreamlike compositions, the visuals turn tomatoes and vegetables into objects of obsession, transforming something ordinarily familiar into something visually strange and oddly captivating.
To celebrate the launch, Gentle Monster will also unveil immersive pop-up spaces across six cities globally including Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai, Beijing, Bangkok and Los Angeles. Inspired by agricultural landscapes, the installations centre around monumental tomato sculptures and whimsical ‘Veggiemon’ characters scattered throughout vibrant garden-inspired environments. Interactive photo booths will also allow visitors to transform themselves into their own Veggiemon-inspired avatars.
Between giant kinetic heads, folding eyewear inspired by vegetables and surreal tomato-filled landscapes, Gentle Monster continues to prove that few brands understand spectacle quite like it does. Somehow, even the absurd starts to feel strangely desirable inside its world.
