Swedish minimalist label Toteme has chosen Beijing’s vibrant Sanlitun district to open its first flagship store in China. The store is the result of a collaboration with Pritzker Prize-winning Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron, marking their first project together. The new location joins six other Toteme boutiques across the country in Nanjing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Shenzhen and Chengdu.
The building stands out for its pleated white stone facade that seamlessly transitions into white metal. A 15-meter-long bench wraps around the exterior, softly lit by backlit glass. The design respects the original structure while introducing Toteme’s signature minimalist approach.
“The Beijing flagship was our first project with Herzog & de Meuron, and it was an inspiring collaboration where we exchanged ideas organically,” said Karl Lindman, co-founder of Toteme. “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.”
The interior of the store follows the same philosophy. High ceilings and hollow spaces emphasize geometric shapes. A striking lacquered steel staircase dominates the center, becoming more intricate as it climbs. At the top, jewelry sits under hand-blown glass domes while a large screen plays silent films by Swedish director Ingmar Bergman.
The store’s interior is a masterful exercise in optical illusion and spatial design. Toteme‘s signature monochrome palette appears throughout, with high-gloss black lacquered wooden floors and ceilings emphasizing the vertical dimensions of the space. Custom-made wooden display tables seem to emerge organically from the floor itself, creating a seamless visual flow.
Ready-to-wear collections hang on pleated white fabric walls, an interior element that cleverly echoes the building’s exterior design. These garment displays appear to float alongside accessories presented on undulating glass surfaces, creating an atmosphere of sophisticated weightlessness.
For the opening, the store featured three exclusive versions of the Bevel bag alongside the full Spring/Summer 2025 collection. Shoppers can browse ready-to-wear, shoes, small leather goods, accessories, jewelry and bags in a space that feels more like an art gallery than a boutique.