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Valerie Sadoun
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3 Min Read
The grand brick facades of London’s New Bond Street have a new, quietly confident anchor. Sprawled across nearly 2,000 square meters and six interconnected historic buildings, the newly opened Hermès Maison at number 166 is a masterclass in domestic-scale luxury.
But look past the heritage brickwork and you’ll find an energy deeply rooted in movement, physical form, and the house’s ultimate athletic muse: the horse.
This is not a sterile flagship; it is a sprawling, 55-room home that bridges 18th-century British architecture with Parisian levity.
The Architecture of Light and Glass
Under the guidance of Parisian architecture agency RDAI and artistic director Denis Montel, the space plays with proportion and light.
The layout feels less like a traditional retail labyrinth and more like a space designed for a fluid, mindful trajectory—inviting a calm, breath-led exploration akin to a morning vinyasa flow.
The Entrance: Visitors walk through a seven-meter-high facade onto the signature Faubourg mosaic floor.
The Atrium: Redesigned in collaboration with Foster + Partners, the former outdoor courtyard is now crowned with a soaring steel and glass roof, anchoring a dramatic spiral staircase wrapped in hand-finished calfskin.
The Walls: In a brilliant nod to northern English industrialism, the south wall of the atrium is lined with classic Manchester bricks cast entirely in mirrored glass.
From Elite Equestrianism to Mindful Textures
Each of the five floors celebrates physical craft and raw material density. Rather than masking the building’s historic architectural quirks, Hermès embraces them, creating spaces that feel both grounded and highly performance-driven.
First Floor: The ultimate heart of the Maison belongs to the equestrian collection. Situated at the center of the floor, it is finished with an exquisite boiserie shaped in straw and horsehair marquetry overlooking the atrium. It’s a tactile reminder of the house's sporting DNA. Nearby, the home collections sit on hexagonal oak parquet that mirrors the listed plaster moldings above.
Second Floor: The men’s universe features deep blue, textured wallcoverings manufactured in Lancashire—a direct callback to Victorian-era design. In contrast, the women’s shoe salon is soft, finished in powder-pink mineral mortar and English floral carpets, offering a serene, studio-like space to pause.
Upper Levels: On the third floor, leather artisans work live at their benches, emphasizing the house's focus on repair, longevity, and tactile skill. The journey ends on the private fourth floor, which houses a curation of the historic Émile Hermès collection alongside twin rooftop gardens.
Artistry and Play
Artistic Director Pierre-Alexis Dumas has curated over 500 original artworks for the space, including a custom atrium sculpture of a horse by British artist Jessica Wetherly—a powerful, muscular focal point for the entire building.
But the house also channels a sense of joyful, post-workout levity. For the opening, British textile artist Kate Jenkins has transformed the street-facing windows into The Rocabarn: an imaginary, whimsical horse grooming parlour rendered entirely in crochet, knit, and embroidery. It is a wonderfully eccentric British welcome to a deeply thoughtful, historically athletic French institution.
But the house doesn't take itself too seriously. For the opening, British textile artist Kate Jenkins has transformed the street-facing windows into The Rocabarn: an imaginary, whimsical horse grooming parlour rendered entirely in crochet, knit, and embroidery. It is a wonderfully eccentric British welcome to a deeply thoughtful French institution.
