House of Dior Beijing Lights Up Taikoo Li Sanlitun
House of Dior Beijing, a petal-shaped architectural marvel, officially illuminated its presence this Thursday at Taikoo Li Sanlitun, the Chinese capital’s vibrant hub for luxury and cultural energy. The five-story flagship, one of the brand’s largest in China, marks the opening of Taikoo Li Sanlitun North, a pedestrian-friendly luxury enclave featuring standalone Dior, Louis Vuitton, and Hermès pavilions.
Delphine Arnault, chairman and CEO of Christian Dior Couture, described the new space to WWD as more than a boutique. She called it a “house of dreams,” a realm where art de vivre comes alive through architecture, gastronomy, design, craftsmanship, and contemporary art—an environment of renewal and wonder. She added that the Sanlitun location reinforces Dior’s long-standing, dynamic ties with China and its inspiring creative scene.
The façade, designed by French architect Christian de Portzamparc—who previously collaborated on Dior’s flagship stores in Seoul and Geneva—emerges as an expansive sculptural skin composed of 14 petals and gold-tinted glass tiles. Portzamparc, speaking with WWD ahead of the opening, said the design embodies flexibility and movement, echoing Dior’s fashion philosophy of draping fabrics. The structure also nods to caryatids—sculpted female figures supporting architecture in ancient Athens—by situating the outdoor space as a pedestrian-friendly, sculptural promenade.
To craft each 65-foot-tall petal, Portzamparc partnered with a local manufacturer, employing a resin-casting technique and relocating production to a Sanlitun-adjacent facility. The petals required 18 months of meticulous fabrication. The designer described how an idea inspired by Seoul’s shipyard heritage influenced the Beijing project: careful routing of hull-like components demanded precise logistics, prompting the factory’s relocation to align with Beijing’s site logistics. He also tailored the petals for Beijing by widening gaps between them and adding a vertical gold glass tile wall on each facade, aligning with traditional Chinese aesthetic cues.
During daytime, light from the Louis Vuitton flagship next door reflects onto Dior’s glass, creating refracted color play. By night, Dior Beijing becomes a luminous lantern, fostering a dialogue between light and space that evolves continually.
Portzamparc views Taikoo Li Sanlitun as a catalyst for bringing pedestrians back to Beijing’s urban fabric, which has been historically dominated by wide avenues and car traffic. He reflects on a cultural loss of traditional neighborhoods like hutongs and notes that the area’s car-suppressing zoning prioritizes strolling and social life over vehicular movement. He believes that combining novelty with thoughtful urban design can greatly enrich city life.
Taikoo Li Sanlitun originally pioneered neighborhood-style shopping in China when it opened in 2008. Its early success with mass-market brands laid groundwork for Taikoo Li Chengdu, a luxury destination renowned for marrying heritage with high-end retail. This history informed the current five-year luxury upgrade of Taikoo Li Sanlitun, which aims to revive the street-level vitality that urban planning and retail professionals have long sought. Portzamparc emphasizes that the street remains an enduring concept—a space designed for human interaction and life.
For visitors exploring the Dior flagship, the holiday windows present a magical theater built from vintage travel trunks, illustrating scenes of Dior’s atelier, a runway show, and the designer greeting guests at 30 Avenue Montaigne with his dog Bobby. Inside, the store continues its enchantment with a luminous setting that highlights Cabochon parquet flooring, gold-accented wallpapers, and abundant fresh bouquets—some reimagined as artworks—celebrating Dior’s long association with flowers.
The interior, designed by Dior’s in-house team, doubles as a gallery, featuring designer furnishings such as Claude Lalanne’s Ginkgo Leaf bench, Sarah Meyohas’ ethereal painting, and Valeria Nascimento’s Gold Cascade ceramics. Hervé Van der Straeten’s Super Bubbling mirror, Not Vital’s Cuq steel sculpture, Franck Evennou’s tables, and works by Xu Zhen, Wang Xiyao, and Annalu inject vibrant color and contemporary energy throughout.
At the brand’s fine-dining venue, Monsieur Dior by Anne-Sophie Pic, three works by Chinese painter Hong Hao celebrate the color red and recall Beijing’s spatial order with a central axis linking the Forbidden City and ceremonial spaces. Dior Maison pieces, including a trunk and vases by Joy de Rohan Chabot, accompany the restaurant nearby.
The flagship’s centerpiece is a dramatic spiral staircase that guides guests to the second floor, where Dior’s women’s wear, including the Cruise 2026 collection by Maria Grazia Chiuri, is displayed alongside accessories, fine jewelry, Dior Lady Art projects, and La Collection Privée fragrances. The third floor houses men’s collections, timepieces, and tailoring, while the top level provides two private rooms, a white-on-white OMA-inspired space, and an outdoor terrace.
A corridor gallery features a reproduction of René Bouché’s painting “Monsieur Dior à table,” underscoring Dior’s passion for hospitality. In the private chamber, Mathilde Denize’s hypnotic painting enhances the space’s contemplative mood.
To inaugurate the venue, Dior introduced an exclusive array of products, including dresses from the Cruise 2026 line, gold-embroidered Lady Dior and Dior Toujours bags, a plush red Dior B57 sneaker, 10 Rose des Vents pendants, and other select pieces. Jonathan Anderson’s debut collection for Dior women’s and men’s will arrive in-store at the start of January.
The evening’s opening ceremony drew a high-profile lineup: Arnault, Pierre-Emmanuel Angeloglou (deputy CEO of Christian Dior Couture), Anderson, Italian filmmaker Luca Guadagnino, and celebrities such as Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi, Dior brand ambassadors Ana Zheng and Xin Liu, Dior beauty ambassador Wei Deng, and Chinese brand ambassador Ye Zhou, among others.
