Louis Vuitton’s Tokyo boutique to Dior’s Seoul flagship – are these the most stunning luxury stores in the world?

May 10 , 2021

Futuristic luxury stores are becoming the norm in the world’s fashion capitals, how many have you paid a visit to? Photo: Luxurylaunches

A good fashion store is about more than commerce. As tantalising as the contents might be, what lures you in is often more mysterious. Luxury stores have begun to morph into art works of their own in recent years, often thanks to famous designers called in to create something extra special – as these nine stunning collaborations prove.

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9. Aspesi, Milan

Milan’s Aspesi store is typically no logo and makes use of cool hued details in a vast space in Duomo. Photo: Luxurylaunches

In stark contrast to the D&G store elsewhere on this list is the Aspesi shop, located in the city’s prestigious Duomo shopping district. The sizeable 6,458 sq ft store is spread across two lower floors of a former bank office.

The designer, Dordoni Architetti, turned it into a modern and elegant space using an eclectic palette of materials such as Plexiglas, stone, PVC and steel. The no-logo philosophy and the unconventional spirit of the brand remains intact with ample use of inlaid stone, and various industrial-inspired metal furnishings.

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8. Aesop, Piccadilly, London

How to be visually stunning and deeply relaxing at the same time: the Aesop store in London. Photo: Luxurylaunches

There’s something spectacular about the Aesop store in central London, which was designed by film director Luca Guadagnino (Call Me by Your Name). Whether it is the Boiserie-style panels, the huge marble-framed doorway or the rose-coloured marble that lends a mystique, Aesop’s Piccadilly Arcade store cleverly echoes the city’s historic buildings.

While the ground-floor shop area is anchored by two rough chunks of marble, the first floor is reached via a partially hidden stairwell finished with marble-inlaid steps and a leather-wrapped handrail. Aesop Piccadilly Arcade is the 16th store that the brand has opened in London.

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7. Issey Miyake, Osaka

Note the bathroom pipe-style clothing rails at the Issey Miyake boutique in Osaka. Photo: Luxurylaunches

Japanese designer Shingo Noma created the interiors of the Issey Miyake store in Osaka’s Minamisemba neighbourhood. The space has a quirky vibe owing to additions, such as seating shaped like bars of soap and pipe-like clothing rails. The designer was inspired by Osaka’s long history of maritime trade. To stay true to the theme, a four-pronged silver sculpture resembling the handle of a traditional tap has been mounted on the facade.

Take a closer look and you will find pipe-like tubing supporting the display tables, which all feature white, glossy countertops – almost reminiscent of the inner lining of bathtubs or sinks.

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6. Burberry, Shenzhen, China

The sleek Burberry store in Shenzhen, China, integrates tech unto the shopping experience. Photo: Luxurylaunches

The iconic British fashion brand roped in China’s largest social media company Tencent to deliver a store that resonates with Shenzhen’s growing reputation as a global tech hub. The pairing decided to extend the modernity to the shopping experience by allowing shoppers to use WeChat, a Chinese messaging and social media app, to engage with the shop. Shoppers can book one of the three themed fitting rooms, preselect the clothes and play their own music while they try them on.

The Burberry store in Shenzhen has 10 different rooms and its own cafe. Photo: Luxurylaunches

The store houses an interactive window display in addition to the 10 rooms in the shop, each of which has a different theme such as Burberry Animal Kingdom, Reflections and the Thomas Burberry Monogram. The Thomas cafe is flanked by high-gloss beige with chamfered mirrors, animal-patterned wall panels and layers of sandy-coloured curtains.

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5. Hermès, Omotesando Street, Tokyo

On Tokyo’s prestigious Omotesando Street, stands the Hermès store designed by Parisian studio RDAI. The 488-square-metre store is the first free-standing Hermès outlet in Tokyo and is heavily influenced by aspects of Japanese nature and culture. The store is wrapped in a geometric screen made from pieces of copper-coloured stainless steel and small window displays are consolidated into the patterned cladding, along with lighting that illuminates the stonework at night.

Natural motifs including bamboo and wood abound in Hermès’ Tokyo store in Japan. Photo: Luxurylaunches

Once you step inside the store, you will spot abundant green stone in two shades resembling Japanese tatami mats. Floating wooden shelves, walls covered in wood panelling and a dramatic staircase are among the boutique’s most striking architectural features. A suspended bamboo sculpture by Japanese artist Shoryu Honda is another highlight of the store.

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4. Prada Boutique Aoyama, Tokyo

The Prada Boutique Aoyama store in Tokyo, Japan. Photo: Luxurylaunches

Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron are the brains behind Prada’s six-floor building located in Tokyo’s Aoyama district, and is famous as one of the most recognisable architectural works of the city.

The building appears like a stack of glass blocks and visitors often hit the store solely for the purpose of seeing the building. Inside, every line produced by Prada can be found here, from menswear and womenswear to sportswear and fragrances, making it the largest flagship store in Japan.

3. Louis Vuitton, Ginza, Tokyo

Believe it or not, there’s a giant sculpture of a jellyfish inside this new Louis Vuitton store in Ginza, Tokyo. Photo: Louis Vuitton

Early 2021 saw the launch of Louis Vuitton’s distinctive flagship store in Tokyo’s Ginza shopping district with a surging facade and interiors by architect Peter Marino. The store that is spread over four floors and includes a lounge for VIP customers impresses passers-by with its external glass surface that imitates waves of water with iridescent reflections.

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The same idea is echoed inside with a giant sculpture of a jellyfish and equipped with a staircase with the same wavy style. Who could’ve thought that words like poetic, glistening, playful and rhythmic could be used legitimately used to describe a building?

2. Dior, Seoul

The stunning facade of the Dior store in Seoul, Korea. Photo: Worldarchitecture.org

Dior’s new boutique in Seoul, created by architects Christian de Portzamparc and Peter Marino, barely even looks like a building. The exterior uses sculptural white fibreglass panels chosen to depict the fluid movement of the clothing created in Dior’s Haute Couture Atelier in Paris.

Other than offering the best of the brand’s clothing, of course, the building also boasts a Dior cafe serving typically French fare in the form of macaroons and pastries by confectioner Pierre Hermé. Peter Marino has made ample use of mirrored walls and fabric-draped candlers to go with the monochrome tiled floors. The interiors are luxuriously glossy owing to glass inserts that help to naturally light the shop floors. A VIP Lounge and Gallery occupy the third floor.

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1. Dolce & Gabbana, Rome

It’s not quite the Sistine Chapel, but Rome’s Dolce & Gabbana store is still rather special. Photo: Luxurylaunches

“When in Rome, do as the Romans do” – this statement aptly describes the superlative D&G store created by architecture studio Carbondale. Not only is the boutique set within a 16th-century palazzo in renowned Roman square Piazza di Spagna, but the store houses a digitalised fresco.

The fresco depicts billowing pastel clouds, cherubs and ancient Greek deities Hercules and Athena created by Paris-based creative studio Pastor/Placzek. Almost as impressive as the ceiling, the floors attempt to captivate shoppers with circular mosaics embedded in the high-gloss floors and inscribed with the words paradise, love and beauty.

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This article originally appeared on Luxurylaunches.

Burberry

Call Me By Your Name director Luca Guadagnino helped beauty brand Aesop fashion a gorgeous space out of marble for its Piccadilly Circus store in London
Burberry teamed up with Tencent’s WeChat to allow clients to preselect clothes and fitting rooms, and Dolce & Gabbana’s Rome store boasts a digitalised fresco