The 10 most stunning luxury stores in the world

Fashion is like architecture, it is a matter of proportions. 

Said Coco Chanel. The link between fashion and architecture has always been very intense, as the collaborations between the brands and some famous architects have shown in the past few years: just think of the Whitney Bag, the bag designed by Renzo Piano in collaboration with Max Mara, but above all the collection of objects for the house designed by Virgil Abloh for IKEA. Lately, this exchange has become even more acute since the architects became archistars. For this reason, many fashion houses have called several famous designers to design their luxury stores. The result? A series of boutiques around the world that look like art installations.

nss magazine has selected the 10 most beautiful luxury stores in the world created in collaboration between fashion brands and famous architects. 

Louis Vuitton
Ginza, Tokyo (Japan)

Louis Vuitton's new boutique building in Tokyo, signed by architects Jun Aoki and Peter Marino, was officially unveiled in early 2021. Located in the historic location of Ginza, in the same street corner that the brand's boutique has occupied since 1981, the new building has an external glass surface that imitates the waves of water with iridescent reflections, the same aquatic and wavy theme is reproduced in the interiors, decorated by the giant sculpture of a jellyfish and equipped with a staircase with the same wavy style. Inside, the store is spread over four floors and at the last there is a lounge for VIP customers.

7-6-1 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo (Japan)
Studio: Jun Aoki & Peter Marino

Dior Pop-Up Store
Capri (Italy)

After enchanting the whole world with the show in Lecce, there is no doubt that Maria Grazia Chiuri has a penchant for the Mediterranean aesthetics. In confirmation of her love for the colors and atmospheres of the Italian summer, in June Dior opened a pop-up store in Capri: a unique store, built on the rock and overlooking the blue waters of the Mediterranean. "We have emphasized the relationship with the lush nature that surrounds the space, leaving creepers free to enter and opening the sea wide open," explained Claudia Campone, founder of the THiRTYONE architecture studio; "The result is an en-plein-air store that offers an immersive brand experience."

Riccio Restaurant & Beach Club
Via Gradola, 4, 80071 Anacapri NA
Studio: THiRTYONE

Burberry
Mykonos (Greece)

Despite being inspired by the spirit and attitude of the Regent Street store in London, the Burberry pop-up store in Nammos Village, Mykonos is a dip in the Mediterranean aesthetic. Immersed in nature, the structure is presented with a palette of pistachio and beige colors, enriched with blue and pink summer shades. Throughout the store, fixtures and details are built with a variety of materials and textures, from plywood to mirrored and glossy finishes. The outdoor terrace features a wooden pergola inspired by traditional Mykonos buildings, with TB Summer Monogram blue blue siding. The shop will be open until October 2020.

Building 4, Nammos Village Psarou Beach, 846 00, Greece

Dolce & Gabbana
Rome (Italy)

Dolce & Gabbana has never been famous for its sobriety. On the contrary, thanks to its baroque and exaggerated attitude, over the years it has designed the image of a new Italian aesthetic in the world. Their boutique in Piazza di Spagna, in Rome, the heart of the Eternal City, the capital of Italian history and culture, could not be less. Housed within the walls of a majestic sixteenth-century palace, the shop looks like a real Roman temple made of marble, mosaics and frescoes. Spread over two floors, it was designed in collaboration with the architect Eric Carlson.

Piazza di Spagna, 94-96, 00187 Roma RM
Architect: Eric Carlson, Studio Carbondale

Aspesi
Milan (Italy)

In the Milan fashion district, completely different from the Dolce & Gabbana store, there is the Aspesi shop. For the new headquarters, inaugurated in via San Pietro All'Orto after years in Via Montenapoleone, the architectural firm Dordoni Architetti, founded by Rodolfo Dordoni and Luca Zaniboni, worked on the transformation of an old bank. Faithful to the no-logo philosophy and the unconventional spirit of the brand, the result is a modern and elegant space that plays with the tradition of Milanese courtyards.

Via S. Pietro All'Orto, 24, 20121 Milano MI
Studio: Dordoni Architetti

Prada Ayoama
Tokyo (Japan)

In 2001, almost simultaneously with the opening of the Epicenter in New York, Prada together with the Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron designed its second Epicenter, this time in Tokyo. The building, built on six floors, is located in the district of Aoyama and is one of the most recognizable architectural works of the city: in particular it is characterized by a diagonal grid that intertwines under the eyes of the public, covered by a glass facade green that focuses on various optical phenomena between the outside and the inside. 

5 Chome-2-6 Minamiaoyama, Minato City, Tokyo 107-0062, Giappone
Studio: Herzog & de Meuron

Dior Flagship Store
Seoul (South Korea)

The Dior flagship store in Seoul, South Korea could not be more different from the summer shop in Capri, which manages to blend in among the creepers of the Mediterranean scrub. On the contrary, it is a decidedly more sumptuous and imposing building. Inaugurated in the summer of 2015, the store has a white sculptural facade built on a sail-shaped structure, made of resin glass and fiberglass. Inside, a staircase guides customers through the various collections, up to the top floor, where the shopping day ends with a drink at Café Dior.

464 Apgujeong-ro, Cheongdam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, Corea del Sud
Studio: Christian de Portzamparc, Christian de Portzamparc

Prada Marfa
Texas (USA)

No other store in the world enjoys the same reputation as Prada Marfa, the (fake) Prada store that stands in the middle of the Chihuahua desert, about 60 km from the city of Marfa, Texas. It is a proper artistic installation, built according to the aesthetic canons of the brand and designed to deteriorate naturally over time, without external repairs or restoration. Born in 2005, when Instagram was still a distant mirage, the work became famous first thanks to the painting that represents the distance from the installation (also repeated in the TV series Gossip Girl), then thanks to the countless photos of tourists, influencers and celebrities (including Beyoncé). Signed by the architects Ronald Rael and Virginia San Fratello, the structure was not commissioned by Miuccia Prada, who only took care of selecting the items to send to the artists. Despite its ambitions, the work has already been repaired twice following the occurrence of vandalism.

14880 US-90, Valentine, TX 79854, Stati Uniti
Architects: Ronald Rael and Virginia San Fratello, Rael San Fratello

Hermès
Tokyo

Before opening the Parisian boutique in Rue de Sèvres, transforming the Art Deco spaces of the Lutetia public swimming pool into a store, the French group Hermès had already come into contact with the world of architecture for the construction of its Japanese headquarters, in the district Ginza, Tokyo. The building project (6000 square meters of commercial space, workshops, offices, exhibition and multimedia areas, completed with a French-style roof garden) was entrusted to an Italian team: the architect Renzo Piano and the Italian company Seves - Divisione Vetroarredo di Firenze, which produced an experimental glass brick to cover the entire facade of the building. "The plan by architect Piano for the Hermès house in Tokyo represents the highest contribution of the 20th century to the architecture of glass brick," commented Enrico Basso, CEO of Seves at the time. The architectural poetics achieved by the work inspired by the famous Maison de Verre in Paris, (1928 - 1932) designed by Pierre Chareau and Bernard Bijvoet.

5 Chome-4-1 Ginza, Chuo City, Tokyo 104-0061, Giappone
Architect: Renzo Piano, Renzo Piano Building Workshop

Louis Vuitton
Singapore

The history of Louis Vuitton is full of shops by the sea: just think of the collections inspired by the boutiques of the most famous Italian seaside resorts, from Porto Cervo to Capri, Portofino and Forte dei Marmi, which for years now have inspired ad hoc versions of the more iconic bags from the Maison. But for the store in Singapore, the brand has surpassed itself and designed the first store on the sea. The boutique stands on an artificial island of glass and steel and represents one of the two autonomous pavilions designed by architect Moshe Safdie as part of the global development of the integrated Marina Bay Sands resort. The nautical-inspired interiors remind of a luxury yacht, while from the second floor you can access an outdoor terrace, with a splendid panoramic view of the bay.

Louis Vuitton Island Maison, 2 Bayfront Avenue B2 Shop 36, Singapore 018972
Architect: Moshe Safdie, Safdie Architects