The sublime luxury of light and space in Hermès revamped Bond Street store…

If you haven’t recently visited Hermès London flagship store at 155 New Bond Street, we strongly urge you to do so immediately, as the feeling of space, light and quiet luxury they have created is really quite fabulous. Almost doubling their retail area – from 359 to 673 square metres – in one fell swoop, the store is now bathed in natural light and feels airily comfortable to wander around in at your leisure.
Obviously, the area we were most taken with is the large space they have devoted to showcasing the entire Hermès ‘Fragrance Library’, but everywhere the eye comes to rest, it is met with an exceptional level of thoughtfulness and modest majesty in the design. Ascending the gently curved staircase to the new first floor, you cannot help but marvel at the mix of heritage and modernity, and there in front of you, displayed on the chic underlit counter and shelves, the full array of Hermès personal fragrances, body products and Maison scented objects to marvel at.

Leading out from the incredibly chic but still homely Maison section is a stunning olive tree-lined courtyard, which just so happens to contain Henry Moore’s Draped Reclining Figure in the centre, and apparently in the summer this area will be fully opened up in order to host cocktail parties and other events, which sounds simply divine and has our name written all over it!

What most impressed us on our tour around the flagship store, apart from the space itself, was how it encourages you to traverse the fragrances again – re-introducing yourself to old friends and getting to meet intriguing characters you perhaps had been barely aware of, previously. The charming staff are always on hand to guide you through, and we adored the little ‘bookmarks’ with ribbons used as scent blotters – another link to their ‘Library’ of fragrances inspired by (or, equally, inspiring in kind) all manner of engaging stories, novels and haiku to inhale.
It’s extremely difficult to pull-off a contemporary refurbishment that still pays great respect to the heritage of such a prestigious brand, and to create a space where you feel relaxed, unharried, able to browse and explore at will – but Hermès have done a sublime job and marked a definite destination to add to the chic fragrance-shopping map of London.