Inside the Hermès Store Opening Party in Vancouver

by Eliza Grossman September 20, 2019

After famed Birkin collector, Drake, surprised us with a performance at a party celebrating the opening of the Hermès store in Toronto in 2017, we vowed to never miss an Hermès event. While Drake may have been the icing on an already delicious cake in Toronto, Vancouver’s latest opening was an entire sweet table.

Hermès opened its first Vancouver store in 1995, which was shuttered recently as the brand moved to its new location at Burrard Street. The two-story space has been designed by Parisian architecture agency RDAI and is just down the block from the original store. The night of its opening, the oak-heavy space smelled so fresh that the scent permeating throughout the boutique was that of the wood and not yet the house’s fragrances displayed on the first floor.

Party-goers gathered in the boutique to catch a glimpse of the products made exclusively for Vancouver—a pair of roller skates, a limited-edition Twilly scarf and three Kelly bags designed to reflect the Vancouver landscape—before being transported to the party location.

In true Vancouver style, the rain persisted the day of the opening but guests were escorted one by one with umbrellas from buses to inside the venue space. The former casino turned convention centre turned Hermès fantasy land was completely transformed to embody the “Unlock a Dream” theme. A lush green-covered entry maze offered champagne and cocktails from arms emerging out of the walls, a Neon Pegasus hung from giant clouds above a bar and a starry screen engulfed a passageway creating a Yayoi Kasuma-like experience. Guests snapped photos in wings made from silk Hermès scarves and escaped from the city momentarily through a virtual reality experience flying Pegasus out of the Grand Palais in Paris.

Mid-party, a sea of floating disco balls rose into the air revealing a dance floor flooded with live musicians. As the dance floor filled for the rest of the night, the party continued until it was time to return home to see how real dreams compared to the one that Hermès had created.

Photography by Evaan Kheraj

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