Situated on Sanlitun Road, from its eye-catching façade to its stacked rosewood shelves, the shop encapsulates the essence of Paul Smith, as elegance and tradition meet a hint of playfulness and modernity. Reminiscent of Paul Smith’s vibrant shops in Los Angeles and Cape Town, the front of the Beijing shop sees a clash of yellow and pink tones, inspired by the architecture of Luis Barragan and the colours of artist Hélio Oiticica. True to form, behind the façade, lies a truly unique shopping experience…

First find your feet in the shoes and accessories room, where new season Westbourne bags and Maharam fabric luggage sit in brass units alongside buffed brogues and burnished leather wallets. Adjacent on the ground floor, new season offerings from the Paul Smith Men’s collection hang in a room inspired by Oslo City Hall.

A painting of a snake wraps around a semi-circular wall and nods to both 18th century zoologist Albertus Seba and the Chinese Year of the Snake, while a hint of European decadence is injected in Italian glass chandeliers and 1950’s French furniture. Next door, fresh off the catwalk, the Paul Smith Women’s collection is located in an art deco inspired room where a bold brass chandelier hangs above a glass-topped Mastercraft table and terrazzo floor.

A blue polished staircase leads you passed the Paul Smith picture wall. Jam-packed with paintings, prints and Paul’s own photographs, the wall is at the heart of many Paul Smith shops and Beijing gets it’s first taste of the action in the new Sanlitun space.

Once upstairs, the shop is divided into three further rooms: the first, complete with panelled walls and 19th-century French furniture, houses the London collection, the formal tailoring line within Paul Smith’s men’s offering; in the second hangs the men’s PS by Paul Smith and Paul Smith Jeans collection; and the third houses women’s Paul by Paul Smith and Black Label pieces.

http://www.paulsmith.co.uk