In an age when luxury fashion brands are opening stores that go beyond a mere shopping experience, Hermès’s new larger-than-life flagship in London brings craft and fun to the fore.
The concept of the mega-flagship emerged over the past decade as luxury houses’ profits ballooned and production cycles sped up following the coronavirus pandemic. It’s now almost expected for the world’s biggest fashion brands to open shops that double as art galleries, restaurants or even private members’ clubs. But as with everything in the industry, the trend can be taken a little too far. Today, many global flagships with their high-end digital queueing systems and copy-paste interiors feel detached from their brand’s founding values – let alone a sense of fun.
Refreshingly, this isn’t the case with Hermès’s newest maison, which officially opened its doors on London’s 166 New Bond Street yesterday morning. The debut was followed by a summer party by the river Thames. The space – comprising six buildings, four staircases, 55 rooms and a roof terrace – is certainly larger-than-life, outshining many of its luxury competitors on the street. As you enter the ground-floor atrium (originally an outdoor area) and look up, it’s hard not to be awestruck by the glass roof and imposing spiral staircase – the work of architecture studio Foster + Partners. Yet at the same time, the sense of elegance and intimacy that Hermès is known for remains intact, thanks to details such as a deep-burgundy leather railing. A series of rooms dedicated to fine jewellery and watches are painted in a range of bright-yellow shades that take you from sunrise to sunset. The bathrooms are a fiery red.
There’s also plenty to discover outside the products on sale, from a horse sculpture by British artist Jessica Wetherly to the 500 artworks selected by artistic director Pierre Alexis-Dumas, which span illustration, classic and contemporary art.
Upstairs rooms, dedicated to the home, accessories and ready-to-wear, are smaller in size to allow for one-on-one service. Hermès customers will no doubt be delighted to discover floor-to-ceiling displays of one-of-a-kind bags and private repair stations on the top level, too.
Hermès has always been known for timeless products but developing spaces that also turn the spotlight on its seasonal, runway collections feels particularly timely. Recently, the work of Nadège Vanhée-Cybulski, artistic director of women’s ready-to-wear, has been gaining traction at Paris Fashion Week. Backstage at one of her shows, she told me that she has been feeling far more confident and able to make bigger statements. She also recently hosted a destination show in Los Angeles and is preparing to present her first couture range. Meanwhile, the label’s menswear business will also begin a promising, new chapter, when London-based Grace Wales Bonner – a designer lauded for her mastery of tailoring as much as her cultural credibility – showcases her debut collection as artistic director of menswear in January 2027.
Over the coming months, Hermès will continue to evolve. With this new chapter, the house is entering a fresh growth phase (last year there were also ambitious openings across the US, including Nashville). The brand is playing the fashion game by its own rules, staying clear of the aggressive marketing tactics and trend cycles that some of its competitors have succumbed to. In doing so, it is helping to divert modern-day luxury away from scale, logos and it-products, and instead towards craft, privacy and a healthy dose of fun.
Natalie Theodosi is Monocle’s fashion director. For more opinion, analysis and insight, subscribe to Monocle today.
Further reading?
– Meet the design minds creating beautiful Hermès boutiques worldwide
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