Balmain have announced plans to open its first London flagship store on South Audley Street, in the heart of Mayfair. Working with longtime collaborator, architect Joseph Dirand, the man behind the impressive transformation of the house’s iconic Paris flagship, the new London location is created as a continuation of their relationship and a physical extension of Balmain’s DNA.

In keeping with its Mayfair neighbourhood the 220 square metre boutique takes influence from the Queen Anne Revival style, channeling the classically sober English aesthetic with a stone exterior framed in black lacquer and gold leaf. The store’s interior is equally grand, featuring a geometric stone floor, created with beige thalas and grey hainaut stone as a contemporary play on traditional English parquet patterns, and furnished with pieces created by Dirand in the style of house founder’s favourite mid-century French furniture designers, André Arbus and Jean Royère. 

‘The concept behind the design for Balmain’s original address was to create a uniquely elegant space – a Parisian townhouse – where the house founder, Pierre Balmain, would have been very much at home,” Joseph Dirand explained in a release. ‘This London flagship translates that French refinement into an English vocabulary. I like to think of this new address as the founder’s second home, Pierre Balmain’s London pied-à-terre.” 

It’s been a big week for the house, having also launched a revamped version of their online store, encompassing an expanded e-commerce platform set to promote a more personal and immersive online experience. Check it out here.