Cover The entrance at 23 Avenue des Champs-Élysées, part of RH’s store shortlisted for the Prix Versailles Most Beautiful Emporiums 2026, is framed by clipped trees and bronze doors engraved with Leonardo da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man, a reference to the Vitruvius text held in the building’s library (Photo: Kristen Pelou)
The entrance at 23 Avenue des Champs-Élysées, part of RH’s store shortlisted for the Prix Versailles Most Beautiful Emporiums 2026, is framed by clipped trees and bronze doors engraved with Leonardo da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man, a reference to the Vitruvius text held in the building’s library (Photo: Kristen Pelou)
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The Prix Versailles has announced its 2026 shortlist of the world’s most beautiful emporiums, comprising seven flagship stores across four countries, from a sculptural House of Dior in Beijing to Cartier’s Design District showcase in Miami
On 29 June 2026, the Prix Versailles published its World’s Most Beautiful Emporiums List, naming seven flagship stores across China, France, Japan and the United States. The selection includes entries that sit within or alongside historic structures rather than replacing them, such as RH’s Paris studio and Issey Miyake’s New York flagship. Three of the seven, meanwhile, were designed by architects better known for civic or cultural work than retail: Foster + Partners at RH, Christian de Portzamparc at Dior, and Diller Scofidio + Renfro at Cartier. Secretary General Jérôme Gouadain frames the category as one where “retail outlets have spearheaded the field of architecture,” and this year’s list makes the case in built form.
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House of Dior, Beijing, China by Christian de Portzamparc
Above At night, the building’s seven shells read as a single gesture, lit from within to reveal their layered structure (Photo: Kristen Pelou)
Above The façade’s petal-shaped shells of the Dior store in Beijing Sanlitun reveal the sculptural quality of Christian de Portzamparc’s design (Photo: Kristen Pelou)
At night, the building’s seven shells read as a single gesture, lit from within to reveal their layered structure (Photo: Kristen Pelou)
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Christian de Portzamparc’s third store for the house, following earlier locations in Seoul and Geneva, sits in Beijing’s Sanlitun district. The façade is built from petal-shaped shells, a form drawn from the movement of toile, the fabric Christian Dior once cut his gowns from, and the panels function structurally, holding up the roof in place of columns. Hand-crafted golden glass tiles appear throughout the building, a reference to the house’s long-standing ties to China.
The rooftop lounge area is furnished with rattan and teak seating, its planting echoed by the petal forms visible through the glazing (Photo: Kristen Pelou)
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Inside, a spiral staircase connects five floors, each devoted to a different part of the house’s output, from leather goods to jewellery, perfume and ready-to-wear. The interiors incorporate work by Wang Xiyao, Hong Hao, Franck Evennou and Gio Ponti, continuing Christian Dior’s own practice of working alongside the artists of his time.
RH Champs-Élysées, Paris, France by Foster + Partners
Viewed from above, the building’s planted roof terrace sits beneath a glass dome, with the Eiffel Tower visible across the Paris rooftops (Photo: Kristen Pelou)
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Behind the historic gates at 23 Avenue des Champs-Élysées, the Californian home furnishings brand has opened a gallery and interior design studio, developed in collaboration with Foster + Partners. A bronze caryatid greets visitors inside the atrium, from which staircases and a retractable lift lead to an art gallery, a glass-walled restaurant and a rooftop terrace facing the Eiffel Tower, the Grand Palais and the Louvre.
Bronze staircases crisscross a multi-storey atrium, its balustrades patterned with rosette and lattice motifs (Photo: Kristen Pelou)
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The building houses a library of rare volumes, including a 1521 edition of Vitruvius’s De architectura. The design studio occupies a freestanding glass-and-steel structure with its own sculptural façade, set apart from the main building. Le Jardin RH, the restaurant on the second-floor terrace, centres on a bar clad in white onyx.
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Saint Laurent Montaigne, Paris, France by Anthony Vaccarello
Above Textured plaster panelling frames a recessed niche above a leather banquette, its surface catching light across an uneven, hand-applied finish (Photo: Adagp)
Above The Montaigne façade retains its original stone and wrought-iron balconies, with the Saint Laurent signage set discreetly beside the entrance (Photo: Adagp)
Textured plaster panelling frames a recessed niche above a leather banquette, its surface catching light across an uneven, hand-applied finish (Photo: Adagp)
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On Avenue Montaigne, Saint Laurent’s store unfolds across three levels under the artistic direction of Anthony Vaccarello, the spaces moving between open display areas and more intimate, gallery-like rooms. The site’s original architectural features have been retained and worked into the new design, set against rougher, more contemporary materials.
A curved wall in dark walnut panelling sets off a channel-tufted leather banquette and a low bronze table (Photo: Adagp)
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Furniture and collectable design pieces are part of the plan rather than incidental to it: a pair of Süe et Mare armchairs, a daybed by Paul Poiret for Atelier Martine, and a previously unseen work by Mark Bradford drawn from the Pinault Collection. Yves Saint Laurent’s own reputation as a collector runs through the choices made at number 37.
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Tiffany & Co. Ginza, Tokyo, Japan by Jun Aoki and Peter Marino Architect
Above Viewed from above, the Ginza store’s glass panels stack into a tapered blue form rising above the surrounding streetscape
Above The tower’s wave-form glass façade, designed by Jun Aoki, shifts between clear and Tiffany blue across its surface
Viewed from above, the Ginza store’s glass panels stack into a tapered blue form rising above the surrounding streetscape
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At 66 metres, Tiffany’s Ginza store is one of the more prominent towers in the district, its blue-tinted, wave-form glass façade designed by Jun Aoki, with window displays by Kimiko Fujimura. The interior, by Peter Marino Architect, working withTiffany’ss own teams, draws on the design language of the brand’s Fifth Avenue flagship in New York.
A jewellery salon is arranged around facing display counters in pale stone and bronze, with an angular pleated ceiling suspended overhead
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A skylight by Hugh Dutton catches and scatters light as visitors move beneath it, a detail meant to echo the way light behaves across jewellery. In the staircase, digital screens show the greenery of Ninomaru Garden, bringing a version of Tokyo’s landscape into the interior.
Cartier, Miami, United States by Diller Scofidio + Renfro
Above Detail of the etched glass exterior shows the pattern drawn from a 1909 brooch, its bulbous panels catching the sunlight
Above A private seating area is furnished with curved olive-toned sofas, set against sheer patterned curtains and a carved amber pendant light
Detail of the etched glass exterior shows the pattern drawn from a 1909 brooch, its bulbous panels catching the sunlight
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In Miami’s Design District, Cartier’s expanded store has an exterior by Elizabeth Diller of Diller Scofidio + Renfro, its bulbous, wraparound glass façade etched with a pattern taken from a 1909 brooch. The etching allows glimpses into the interior while keeping much of it obscured.
Sculptural white panels, folded to resemble palm fronds, spread across the ceiling above a central run of glass display cases
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Inside, across two largely open levels, decorator Laura Gonzalez has built an interior around Miami’s natural landscape, using soft pink and blue tones, organic forms and plant-based details. A staircase in camellia-green marble stands against a mural depicting coral, palm trees, and the local skyline. The route through the store moves from smaller, more intimate lounges to a rooftop terrace.
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House of Dior — Beverly Hills, United States, by Peter Marin Architect and Peter Wirtz
Above The Rodeo Drive façade combines curved white stone with tall glass openings, framed by mature palm trees along the street (Photo: Jonathan Taylor)
The Rodeo Drive façade combines curved white stone with tall glass openings, framed by mature palm trees along the street (Photo: Jonathan Taylor)
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Dior’s Beverly Hills store on Rodeo Drive continues a relationship with the location dating back to 1990. The new building was designed by Peter Marino Architect, with landscape architect Peter Wirtz, and is built around a theme of plants that runs through Christian Dior’s own work.
Above The store’s central staircase, in glass and pale stone, connects multiple levels beneath a rose-shaped light installation set into the ceiling (Photo: Jonathan Taylor)
Above At dusk, the rooftop terrace’s angular overhang extends over a paved outdoor space, its underside lit with recessed lighting (Photo: Jonathan Taylor)
The store’s central staircase, in glass and pale stone, connects multiple levels beneath a rose-shaped light installation set into the ceiling (Photo: Jonathan Taylor)
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An undulating limestone-and-stucco façade, shaped to suggest drapery, leads to a central garden beside a sculptural staircase. The garden brings light and depth into the building and creates a transition from the street outside to the more composed interior. Collections are displayed alongside artworks, and the top floor holds two lounges and a terrace with views over the city.
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Issey Miyake — New York, United States by Solid Objectives Idenburg Liu
Above A bronze plaque marking the building as the former New York Life Insurance Company is fixed to the stone beside the entrance (Photo: Naho Kubota)
Above Folded garments are displayed on a two-tier glass-and-steel trolley positioned near a riveted structural column (Photo: Naho Kubota)
A bronze plaque marking the building as the former New York Life Insurance Company is fixed to the stone beside the entrance (Photo: Naho Kubota)
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The new Issey Miyake flagship occupies the ground floor of the New York Life Building, designed by Cass Gilbert in 1928. The architecture firm Solid Objectives Idenburg Liu has exposed elements of the original structure and set them against new aluminium and stainless steel surfaces, working industrial and contemporary materials into the same space. Windows along three sides bring in natural light and connect the interior to the surrounding streets.
Clothing rails on wheeled glass stands sit beneath the original steel ceiling grid, positioned between three arched windows (Photo: Naho Kubota)
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At the centre, a staircase built from structural glass anchors the store. At the rear, a gallery space named MADO, Japanese for window, will host rotating exhibitions tied to the brand’s cultural programme and its focus on material circularity.
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Jennifer Choo is Regional Managing Editor of Tatler Homes, covering architecture, interior design, and art across Asia. Based in Malaysia, she oversees regional content on luxury residential design and contemporary art collections. Legally trained but choosing to pursue her passion for design, she previously led notable design publications and worked as an interior stylist and art consultant for property developers, design firms, and private clients.
