Louis Vuitton, one of the world’s leading luxury brands, has opened a new flagship store, Maison Louis Vuitton Sanlitun, in Beijing’s Sanlitun district. The project was designed by Japanese architect Jun Aoki, marking his third flagship for the House following earlier works on Namiki-dori in Tokyo and Midosuji in Osaka.
Located in Sanlitun—an area where fashion, culture, and commerce intersect—the project was conceived not merely as a retail building, but as an experiential flagship that integrates retail, hospitality, and exhibition functions into a single architectural entity.
From Dress to Architecture: The Concept Behind the Translucent Façade
The most striking feature of the building is its translucent glass façade, defined by an organic and fluid form. The exterior is composed of more than 300 hand-curved glass panels, whose subtle variations in contour cause the surface to shift in tone depending on light conditions, time of day, and seasonal change.
The façade draws inspiration from a dress designed by Louis Vuitton’s Women’s Artistic Director, Nicolas Ghesquière, which was presented as the final look of the Spring/Summer 2016 Women’s Collection.
In an official statement, Louis Vuitton explained: “The facade is envisioned as an elegant, luminous, and translucent garment, echoing the dress’s poetic interplay of form, light, and movement.”
Aoki himself has also described the guiding idea behind the project, stating: “The idea of something that is simultaneously a rock and a dress became a guiding principle that we maintained throughout the project.”
Interior Organization Anchored by a Vertical Atrium
Inside, the store is organized around a vertical atrium rising through three levels. Serving as the spatial core of the building, the atrium anchors circulation while drawing natural light deep into the interior through the glass façade. Visual connections between floors create a sense of continuity and openness throughout the space.
The flagship spans four floors and presents Louis Vuitton’s key categories, including Women’s and Men’s leather goods, ready-to-wear, shoes, jewelry, accessories, fragrances, and beauty. Vertical circulation elements such as escalators and staircases are positioned to preserve sightlines, resulting in a clear spatial layout in which the city, the architecture, and the interior are perceived as a continuous whole.
The third floor is dedicated to the Louis Vuitton Home Collection. Furniture, textiles, and tableware by designers including Patricia Urquiola and Cristian Mohaded are displayed in settings closer in scale and atmosphere to domestic interiors than to conventional boutiques.
Beijing’s First Le Café Louis Vuitton
On the top floor, Louis Vuitton has opened its first café in Beijing, Le Café Louis Vuitton. Visitors are guided through a mirrored vestibule that amplifies reflections and depth before entering the main dining space.
A rooftop terrace extends the experience outdoors, offering views over the Sanlitun streetscape and functioning as a social gathering place within the city. The café reflects Louis Vuitton’s global strategy of blending retail and hospitality, positioning the flagship as a destination rather than a traditional store.
A New Reference Point for Experiential Luxury
Within Jun Aoki’s more than 25-year collaboration with Louis Vuitton, this project stands out as one of the clearest expressions of the intersection between cultural context and technical refinement.
Open to the city and constantly transforming through light and material, Maison Louis Vuitton Sanlitun operates at the crossroads of architecture, fashion, design, and urban experience—setting a new benchmark for luxury retail in Beijing.
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