Balenciaga is betting big on China, opening its largest store in the world in Beijing’s Taikoo Li Sanlitun shopping complex on Wednesday.
The 13,000-square-foot unit comes in tandem with six exclusive product launches, and an exhibition of eight archival looks from “The Subtleties of a Dialogue” show at Kering headquarters in Paris last September.
The store showcases the brand’s latest ready-to-wear for women and men, handbags, shoes, jewelry, eyewear and other accessories.
Empty of products, the sprawling boutique has a ghostly, futuristic atmosphere heightened by all the raw concrete and crumpled leather sofas, bringing to mind some of the sets in “Blade Runner 2049.”
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It bears the Paris-based house’s “raw architecture” concept incorporating textured concrete, retrofitted metal fixtures, exposed ceiling grids, extruded aluminum shelving, and stone tiles. According to the house, “the construction process respects existing construction elements, making it inherently sustainable by using fewer virgin materials.”
The facade draws inspiration from Beijing’s turn-of-the-century office buildings, featuring weathered, translucent textile panels.
Inside, a 43-foot light well punctures the store’s four levels, whose focus is a central staircase outfitted with artificial skylights.
China has been a key focus for the brand in 2024. It held its pre-spring fashion show in Shanghai on May 30, which was followed up by new boutiques in Wuhan, Ürümqi and Shanghai, plus an expansion of its store in Hangzhou.
The Beijing flagship houses a private shopping suite on the top floor that bears a resemblance to Balenciaga’s Couture Store in Paris with its smoked glass cabinets and low seating.
The brand continues to draw links between founder Cristóbal Balenciaga and Demna, its artistic director since 2015.
Both men are known for architecturally complex structures; exaggerated volumes; garments with emphatic lines; the use of new materials; monochromatic abstraction; monastic profiles, and a focus on anonymity, both in their designs and their approach to public exposure.
Four archival looks from each designer are on display, including green couture gowns from 1959 and 2022; Manila-shawl-inspired embroidered gowns from 1960 and 2021, and black silk column gowns from 1962 and 2024.
Among exclusive merch is an oversized “Metalheads” T-shirt inspired by the hand-painted garments in Balenciaga’s last couture collection.
In addition, an Apple Vision Pro headset will be present in-store for visitors to explore the latest in the app’s innovations.
