Hermès petit h | Chengdu Pop-Up Store

Neri&Hu’s design for Petit h pop-up store takes inspiration from gossip, street life and shadow puppet theaters that once characterized communal society in Chinese villages. The retail pop up is located in Chengdu’s Taikooli development. Petit h is a sub-brand established in 2010 by Hermès that creates products out of the recycled materials from the parent company. The brand is known for its bespoke, quirky, and experimental use of materials for leather goods, ready-to-wear, furniture, home decor/accessories and jewelry.

Inspired by the alleyways and street life of clan-based villages, the store layout is that of a continuous alleyway that folds and unfolds to create lanes and layers of spaces. The profile and form takes on the reading of an abstracted pitch roof which symbolizes the home, which are then configured to form a continuous, unfolding village. Drawing from the playful qualities of Petit h products, Neri&Hu wanted to create a backdrop for the products that could capture the life of the streets while gesturing to the fictional, imagined and whimsical. The Chinese notion of “fiction” actually derives from the term “small talk” or “gossip” originating from alleys and streets. The relationship between the alley, gossip, fiction and street theater informs the layout of the shop as well as the careful placement of visual merchandise.

The walls are built out of white oak timber frames with paper infill panels to create translucent screens, capturing the shadows of patrons against the display walls. The articulation of the screen walls is a reference to the traditional Chinese art of paper craft and shadow puppet theaters. Screens, built in millwork and openings throughout create unexpected moments of encounter. Ordinary materials such as red bricks and bamboo are combined to create custom display furniture for various products ranging from jewelry, scarves and small leather goods. Silhouettes of PETIT h animals appear on the walls, sparking curiosity and discovery around every corner. The spatial device of the alley creates a tableau for the objects on display, while inviting the subversive behaviors of gossip, voyeurism and eavesdropping amongst patrons.