
Christian Kain for Hermès.
Walking down the stone-heavy pavement of Kurfürstendamm feels entirely different now that a massive blast of amber light is bleeding onto the concrete from behind delicate, geometric window screens. Reopening the expanded flagship doors, Hermès has completely transformed its historic Wilhelminian-era home to compress all sixteen of its artisan departments under one highly modernised roof. The building has occupied the site since the 1890s, but the interior setup has been upgraded to be in conversation with the German capital.
Longtime architectural partners RDAI masterminded the internal layout, favouring warm ochre tones, graphic tiling and entirely unexpected raw textures. Panels constructed from leftover leather scraps sourced straight from the house’s French ateliers line the walls, adding a clever layer of craft that honours circular design. Original ceiling stuccoes remain fully exposed throughout the rooms, letting the building’s rough history interact directly with the modern architecture. Stepping over the signature Faubourg mosaic flooring and sand-hued Ex-Libris crest at the threshold leads straight into a sunny silk department, flanked by a shoe salon on the right and fragrance, beauty and fashion jewellery on the left.

Christian Kain for Hermès.

Christian Kain for Hermès.
Moving straight ahead reveals the home and equestrian collections beneath a massive, pixelated glass dome that floods the centre of the building with natural light. The atrium leads to a rear leather salon designed to look like a winter garden, complete with intricate plaster leaf reliefs climbing the walls. Up a lattice-like staircase, a muted, gold-carpeted floor houses the watch and fine jewellery sections, flanked by breezy men’s and women’s ready-to-wear worlds that look onto the courtyard through a window-lined gallery.
Bespoke furniture curated by local Berlin artists dots the space, while original contemporary artwork from the ‘Émile Hermès collection’ lines the walls alongside contemporary photography by French artist Jean-Luc Mylayne. The street-facing windows feature a major partnership with Berlin-based sculptor Zora Mann, who developed a series of psychedelic, surrealist installations that treat the human body as a vessel for travel to mirror the Maison’s seasonal theme, ‘Venture Beyond.’ Her raw, intricate shield drawings map out a trippy dialogue through the glass, marking her debut collaboration with the brand after making a name for herself in the Berlin independent gallery circuit.
Shoppers can explore everything from standard silk scarves and signature leather goods to the highly coveted, hand-stitched Faubourg Birken stock and bespoke horse saddles. The inclusion of the full beauty line means guests can also pick up the latest seasonal lipsticks and custom-blended perfumes directly at the counter. Leaving the building with a classic orange box remains standard practice, but navigating the Ku’damm with a piece of hand-woven studio leather history under your arm is easily the coolest way to show up in the city this summer.

Christian Kain for Hermès.
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photography. courtesy of Christian Kain for Hermès
words. Gennaro Costanzo















