Hermès unveils new Beijing flagship

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Apr 30, 2021

Ultra-luxe label Hermès has unveiled a newly transformed flagship store in Beijing's business district, in the China World Trade Centre. 

It covers two floors and more than 900 sq m with an “eye-catching façade that beckons from afar”. The 11m-high storefront is said to be “a technical feat of engineering and craftsmanship” cast in undulating, engraved double-glass panels, that “evoke a forest of bamboo”.

The interior was created by Parisian architecture agency RDAI as an “open plan and fluid layout, awash with a feeling of lightness and tranquillity”. 

It features “nuanced pastels and mineral hues, like celadon and gold, of traditional etchings and paintings”. There are also bespoke design details “realised via a tremendous collaborative process with local craftsmen, such as the nuanced terrazzo floors, the renowned Faubourg Saint-Honoré mosaics, hand-fashioned furnishings and cabinetry”. 

It can be accessed both from inside the mall and the street and features the complete Hermès line-up across women's and men’s fashion, accessories and beauty.

The first floor houses silks, perfumes and fashion jewellery, plus menswear. There’s also a men's made-to-measure salon set off to the side for added privacy for higher-spending customers. 

A split staircase, which gives visitors a view of the two levels of the store, is backed by a 3D plaster wall that echoes the façade. It leads to up the larger second floor that houses leather goods, watches and jewellery, home collections and womenswear, plus a private VIP room. 

The company said that throughout the space, a “carefully curated selection of art illuminates the relationship between Hermès and China”. There are also two notable commissioned artworks, an equestrian-inspired triptych by French artist Jean-Louis Sauvat that sits almost suspended from the wall above the staircase, and an ink drawing by Chinese artist Li Xin in the perfume area.