Hermès to open new Tokyo Omotesando store
French luxury house Hermès is set to open a new store in Tokyo’s Omotesando district on February 28.
The new address, which opens directly onto Omotesando Avenue, will be the brand’s first free-standing store in Tokyo since the opening of Maison Hermès Ginza in 2001.
It incorporates the historic stone wall of one of the area’s most notable buildings, preserved by Parisian architecture agency and frequent Hermès collaborator RDAI, a press release said. The façade has been styled to play on light and shadows, as in a bamboo grove.
Japanese decorative artist Kohei Kyomori has designed the store windows for the opening.
Inside, a new silk carré by the artist, Duo Cosmique, is exclusively presented, in addition to a piece of contemporary Japanese bamboo art by Shoryu Honda (“an example of the sophistication of Japan’s world-class modern bamboo artistry,” Hermès said).
The store’s surrounding interior walls are covered in wood panelling and bamboo marquetry, while the floor is covered with two shades of green stone, sourced in Asia and laid in a pattern resembling Japanese tatami mats.
A “striking”, sweeping staircase is intended to resemble tree branches, with stairs like pale green steppingstones. Because of this, light filters down from the upper level to the ground floor, “just as sunlight glistens between the branches of a forest”, according to the brand.
Objects created especially for the opening include uniquely numbered Mega Chariot carrés and ties by Daiske Nomura.
