Hermès store opening in Chelsea

Luxury goods manufacturer and high fashion house Hermès of Paris is relocating to the corner of Sloane Street and Cadogan Place, leaving its previous base at 179 Sloane Street. The new site covers a spacious 400 sq m over the ground and first floor, and is conveniently situated very close to its old location, a short walk from Knightsbridge underground station.

For this project, Hermès teamed up with longstanding collaborators RDAI Architecture to make their new home (originally designed by Michael Rosenhauer) as fancy as their wares. Starting with an entirely blank canvas, the store took just under a year to design and build; the result is an airy interior elegantly furnished using a subtle palette of copper-coloured silk carpets, lacquers, warm-coloured metals, wood and leather.


Photography: Andrew Meredith

Led by managing and artistic director Denis Montel, each room, he said, was created with its own tiny idiosyncratic differences: 'This way you create a different feeling in each space.' The equestrian collection, for example, is housed in a room with elegantly rounded wood walls.

While the entire premises is elaborately adorned, with a dramatic double-height ceiling and pearly grey and gold mosaic flooring welcoming visitors into the store, the 'star of the shop', as Montel put it, is the view of Cadogan Square Gardens. This has been taken full advantage of by installing a glass lift so that customers can admire the view, while mesh metallic curtains maintain a veil of privacy from the outside.

The new store houses every one of Hermès' 16 métiers, and will showcase a range of exclusive products including the re-issued London Bag in four limited-edition colourways. A Yamaha Virago motorbike covered in Hermès leather will also feature, on display for the first time in the UK.


Photography: Andrew Meredith

Hermès also has other outlets and stores in central London – within Harrods and Selfridges, on Bond Street and at the London Royal Exchange, in the City.