Bold, geometric minimalism rules at Toteme’s new store by Herzog & de Meuron in China

Bold and geometric, Toteme's newest store brings together a couple of firsts. It is the Swedish fashion brand's first collaboration with the Pritzker Prize-winning Swiss studio Herzog & de Meuron; it is also the company's first store in China. Even so, the expert hand of the architects and their close collaboration with the brand ensured a space that feels not only true to the fashion house's unique DNA – its natural, minimalist and softly geometric feel – but also enhances it through a spatial experience that is at once mesmerising and calming.

Walk through Toteme by Herzog & de Meuron

The store, set in Beijing, occupies an existing structure, which the team in Switzerland redesigned, 'chiselling' into white stone to create a sculptural, pleated effect and dynamic compositions using cool metal and a monochromatic palette. The result is powerful, sculptural – and very fitting to the apparel it contains.

'Our collaboration with Toteme was based on mutual trust and inspiration from the very beginning. Toteme co-founder Karl Lindman and his team provided us with a balance of creative freedom and clear, concise feedback and direction. Our team worked seamlessly together with the Toteme team, creating a truly collaborative and constructive partnership,' says Herzog & de Meuron's Andreas Fries.

He continues: 'They were highly supportive and engaged happily in our design process, which combines strong conceptual thinking with research, development, and a willingness to embrace trial and error to reach the most fitting outcome.'

Moments that link to the store's geographical and cultural context exist too – with the lacquered treatment of the central, grand steel staircase, the Gonshi (natural stones) from a traditional Chinese garden at the space's heart, and the high-gloss black lacquer wood texture of the floor all nodding to the store's Asian location.

Within the store, Toteme's ready-to-wear, shoes, small leather goods, accessories, jewellery and bags from the spring/summer 2025 collection are on offer, alongside the new ‘Bevel’ bag, available here in three exclusive colourways.

'The Beijing flagship was our first project with Herzog & de Meuron, and it was an inspiring collaboration where we exchanged ideas organically. We wanted to create something that hadn’t been done before, that played with the architecture and space itself to communicate Toteme's aesthetic values in a highly evocative and immersive way. They were the ideal partners to push the boundaries of our visual language,' says Lindman.

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