Aupen Opens Its First Physical Shop Inside Paris's Le Bon Marché

Aupen, the independent accessories brand founded by Nicholas Tan in 2022, is opening its first-ever physical retail space — a two-month pop-up on the ground floor of Le Bon Marché Rive Gauche, the Left Bank department store in Paris owned by LVMH. The pop-up opens on a Thursday and runs through the end of October 2026. WWD

Until now, Aupen has sold primarily through its website and trunk shows — travelling sales events where customers can see and buy pieces in person. The brand is known for sculptural, asymmetric handbags and has been carried by Taylor Swift, Emma Stone, Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, Jennifer Lawrence, Hailey Bieber and Kylie Jenner. In 2024, Aupen announced a collaboration with LVMH Métiers d'Art, the craftsmanship division of the luxury group. WWD

The pop-up occupies 200 square feet and brings elements of Tan's art practice into a retail setting for the first time. Alongside Aupen's signature asymmetric bags and jewellery, the space will carry new releases. The centrepiece is the Aspen Surprise box — a sealed box containing a surprise Aupen piece revealed only after opening. Its packaging features a hat motif taken from one of Tan's artworks, first exhibited at 125 Projects in Manila. WWD

The assortment also includes the Nirvana Art Bags series, which translates lessons from Tan's creative journey into the asymmetric Nirvana silhouette, alongside the signature Nirvana collection. Aupen expects both the Nirvana collection and the Surprise box to be among the pop-up's bestsellers, according to the company. The space will also spotlight the Splash earrings worn by Emma Stone and the Purpose collection, which Taylor Swift carried during her pre-wedding celebrations in 2025. WWD

Tan said he chose Le Bon Marché for the brand's retail debut partly for a personal reason: members of the department store's team who lived in Singapore bonded with him over his hometown while eating Singaporean food in Paris. That connection helped seal the decision. WWD

For a brand that has built its name through online drops and travelling events rather than a permanent storefront, the Le Bon Marché pop-up is a test of how Aupen's pieces translate when customers can pick them up, try them on and walk out with them the same day. A 200-square-foot space inside one of Paris's most established department stores gives the brand a physical stage at a scale it has never had.