Cartier Unveils Fluid, Fabric-Inspired Façade For Its Ginza Flagship

In Tokyo’s famed Ginza 4-chome district, Cartier has unveiled the newly completed façade of its flagship boutique — a sculptural reinterpretation of luxury retail frontage by Klein Dytham architecture. In contrast to the district’s typically rigid, rectilinear streetscape, this design embraces fluidity: the building is wrapped in bespoke cast-aluminium panels whose sweeping, triple-curved surfaces evoke the graceful folds of silk or the flowing drape of a wedding gown.

The façade is composed of three-layered tiers: first, the cast-aluminium panels form the deepest, sculptural folds; behind these lie flat aluminium panels; and finally, at the outermost layer, a pane of glass printed with a subtle ceramic pattern. Together, these layers give the impression of translucent ribbons ascending across the building — a visual metaphor for elegance and depth that promises to prepare visitors for the refined world inside.

A key highlight of the design is the choice of finish: Cartier’s bespoke “Moon old,” a delicate gold tone tinged with soft white. The finish has been fine-tuned through extensive prototyping to ensure it responds beautifully to light — appearing cool and silvery in the morning and warm and luminous at dusk.

To anchor the expressive curves within the urban context, the undulating aluminium cladding is framed within a rectilinear boundary. This frame provides structure and dialogue with the surrounding vertical rhythm of neighbouring façades, while the horizontal flow of the new skin dissolves floor-by-floor divisions, creating a unified, seamless exterior.

The design also integrates cultural nuance: the outer glass layer is printed with a stylised version of the traditional Japanese “Seigaiha” (wave) motif — a symbolic motif associated with water, harmony and good fortune. Through this reinterpretation, Cartier and Klein Dytham create a façade that speaks both to Japanese heritage and contemporary luxury.

This project marks KDa’s second major collaboration with Cartier, following their work on the Maison’s Shinsaibashi Boutique in Osaka. As before, the focus lies in blending craftsmanship, context and material innovation — here realised in a façade that is at once modern, poetic and deeply rooted in cultural tradition.