2009 will go down as the year of the pop-up shop. Thanks to the recession and formerly sky-high rents, temporary boutiques are all the rage. This holiday season the roster of pop-ups slated to hit urban streets have a new component: corporate sponsorship. Bailey’s sponsored a footwear-focused pop-up shop in Manhattan earlier this month, and now Nissan’s taking part with three separate pop-up shops that have little to do with automobiles.

Created in conjunction with Colette — the Parisian boutique synonymous with cool — the temporary spaces include outposts in Paris, London and Berlin (which each opened on Thanksgiving Day). “On offer in the stores, which will remain open through Dec. 31, are more than 80 objects by Japanese designers who have been cherry-picked by Colette. These include a “music balloon” by Yuento, a paper cup holder by Bonboog, the Wajima Collection’s quilt sofa and Tate Otama kitchenware,” says Women’s Wear Daily. Each space is titled the Cube, in honor of Nissan’s latest car model (whose summertime commercials were set to NYPC’s “Ice Cream”), and will host exhibitions and screenings.