Since Chinese investment company Sequoia Capital China snapped up a controlling stake in AMI two years ago, the Paris-based fashion brand not only upgraded its coveted collections, but also accelerated its global retail expansion. Needless to say, the latter has had its effect in the Far East, and specifically in China. AMI‘s latest endeavour once again demonstrates its specifically targeting a well-heeled demographic while turbo-charging the brand’s innate French charm. Following a string of standalone stores and shop-in-shops in cities across China, including Beijing, AMI has shifted its focus back to the sprawling capital city to woo its young discerning shoppers with a global first—Le Café AMI. The pop-up café, and also shop, is situated in the southern section of Sanlitun Taikoo Li, the preferred shopping grounds of the city’s deep-pocketed youth. A two-storey pavilion in Hausmannian-style architecture has been erected for the pop-up venue, paired with striped awnings, typically French outdoor terrace furnishings, and even the minaret-like Morris advertising columns you come across in the City of Light (open through Dec 8).
Le Café AMI
Sanlitun Taikoo Li, 19 Sanlitun Lu (Sanlitun)
100023 Beijing
Daily 10am-10pm
Publishers Note
Just to be clear – superfuture® is a design blog and not a political commentator. No surprise there. The scope of our content has always been global and borderless, however that can often mean covering projects in countries where we will not agree with the politics or actions of those countries. In a world that’s as screwed up as ever right now, the focus of our support is to those designers, architects and other creatives who aim to make the world a more liveable one – as opposed to people that try their hardest to destroy it. So if a project hits our desk and we like it based on its design credentials, we may choose to publish regardless of its location or creators nationality. superfuture® has always been inclusive and hopes for all current wars, aggression, violence, hate and extremism to end.
