- Following a year-long renovation, Hermès reopens its Melbourne flagship on 71 Collins Street — inside the Neoclassical Harley House building.
- The new fit-out incorporates Antipodean design cues, in addition to various motifs inspired by the French luxury house’s Paris headquarters at 24 Rue du Faubourg.
- The store currently occupies two floors with further expansions planned for the coming years.
Speaking from the landing of 71 Collins Street yesterday, Hermès Australia Managing Director Karin Upton Baker was emphatic in her observation that a retail space equal parts expansive and ephemeral was needed to “contain the creativity [of the brand].”
An assortment of clients and press were on-hand to celebrate the return of the “crown jewel” of French luxury to the corner of Exhibition and Collins Streets — fittingly, at the ‘Paris’ end of the CBD.
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Hermès has called this address home for over a decade: a heritage-listed structure of some significance that grounds the brand’s retail operations in the surrounding area’s historic, Neoclassical architecture.
To casual observers, the façade at Hermès Melbourne will appear much as it did in 2014. Across the threshold however, RDAI (Hermès longtime architectural partners) have embraced a bespoke approach, inspired by both local Australiana and traditional Parisian design cues, culminating in “a light and verdant environment.”
The ground-floor alcove, enclosing the brand’s watch and jewellery products, is covered in woven carpeting that mirrors the bark of the Australian eucalypt tree. Rainforest-esque greens recur across many of the store’s liminal spaces: most notably along the bannister leading up to the second floor.
In line with Upton Baker’s opening remarks, additional floorspace will be added to the boutique over the coming years. For now, however, shoppers have access to silk and leather goods on the ground floor, while the ready-to-wear apparel universes (for both men and women) are located upstairs.
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The store’s salon-style reception areas are also particularly well-executed, engineered with a degree of privacy and personal space that shall, no doubt, encourage shoppers to take their time.
At Boss Hunting, independent homegrown fashion remains a foremost part of our remit. Still, if you’re looking for one world-class luxury retailer to visit on your next trip to Melbourne, 71 Collins Street is about as good as it gets.
