由RDAI设计的爱马仕旗舰店丨中国北京丨RDAI,Mamou Mani Architects

Just when we had determined Taikoo Li Sanlitun, one of Beijing‘s leading shopping centres, to be the preferred playground of well-heeled Millennial and Gen Z shoppers, a number of established luxury brands have started to pull out all the stops with new flagship stores, changing the game. Following Dior and Louis Vuitton, it’s now Hermès which has raised its profile with a five-storey standalone flagship store. Mind you, Hermès has been present in the city since 1997, and this is the luxury brand’s fourth retail space. Going the extra yard, the store design, created by Paris-based architecture practice and longtime collaborator RDAI in collaboration with Mamou-Mani Architects, a practice based in London, the entire structure is clad in rose-pink and terracotta ceramic tiles. As the building straddles two levels, the store comes with two entrances. Upon entering either one, shoppers instantly see a grand stone staircase that connects all floors and adorned with motifs that echo the arched forms and woven patterns that animate the façade.

The two entrances displaying the house’s iconic ex-libris, followed by sections presenting shoes and silks, while a spacious area in the background houses perfume and beauty products. The ground floor presents a vivid tableau: the vibrant silk universe shares this level with the equestrian collections and fashion jewellery, all set against a multi-coloured patchwork of mosaics inspired by the Faubourg flooring. One floor up, the women’s and men’s apparel areas are featured next to a sizeable shoe display, as well as intimate fitting rooms and a private salon. On the third floor, marquetry made from various woods, a lacquered wall engraved with peony motifs, and ceramic brick walls arranged in an H pattern converge to frame the home collections, leather goods, watches and jewellery. The uppermost level is home to a large private salon that opens out onto a lush, landscaped terrace. The design codes take ample cues from the Forbidden City’s ornate architecture with its curved glazed ceramic rooflines, colours and materials. © superfuture

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RDAI

Images © Hermès

Photography: Jonathan Leijonhufvud