A giant orange box on the street corner of Landmark Prince’s in Central has been unwrapped to reveal the new Hermes Hong Kong flagship store.
Covering 9170sqft (850sqm) over three storeys, the store offers silk items, leather goods, fragrances, jewellery, furniture, watches and a private lounge for made-to-measure garments.
“We really wanted something special in Hong Kong,” says Hermes CEO Axel Dumas. “It was really difficult to find a place, and the business is more complicated in Hong Kong because we decided to take such a big place, but we believe in the future of Hong Kong very strongly.”
As with all Hermes stores worldwide, the Hong Kong flagship was designed and created by Parisian agency RDAI under the artistic direction of Denis Montel. It features a three-dimensional vertical façade inspired by the traditional bamboo scaffolding used in Hong Kong construction. Montel gave the bamboo slats a modern interpretation that allows natural light to enter and brighten the store.
“I asked the architect is to do something local, something unique, something bespoke for the country to create emotion for our clients,” says Dumas.
With the main entrance on Ice House Street and a second entrance on Des Voeux Road, the corner has a two-storey window in which there is an special opening installation from French artists Zim & Zou featuring paper castles.
Customers entering the store are greeted by colourful scarves and silk collections, with perfume on one side and fashion jewellery on the other. Deeper in is the men’s universe, with leather to the left and ready-to-wear to the right, facing a shoe area.
Up the bamboo staircase to the mezzanine floor is the women’s universe, along with jewellery accessories, the watch department and the L’ecrin VIP room for jewellery.
The third floor is devoted to Hermes Maison, with home decor, furniture, a dining area laid out with tableware, and even a Hermes foosball table which customers are welcome to play.
To celebrate the opening Hermes has released a limited-edition Malice collection of small handbags featuring graphic illustrations of Hong Kong icons like the city skyline, a birdcage and rolling dice.
The French luxury goods brand opened its first Hong Kong store in 1975, its first step into Greater China. It now has 40 stores in Hong Kong, Mainland China and Taiwan.
* Images courtesy from Yancy Chu.
