A 600-Year-Old Istanbul Shipyard Finds New Life as a Luxury Wonderland

The Golden Horn, an estuary that curves into Istanbul’s European shore, owes its evocative name in part to the warm sunlight that gilds its waters at sunset. Branching off the Bosphorus, the sheltered waterway served as a bustling harbor for Byzantine Constantinople and later the Ottoman Empire, its shores once crowded with shipyards and merchant vessels. Today, a different kind of splendor has arrived along its storied waterfront. Within a 60-acre complex of former shipbuilding halls at the historic Ottoman Imperial Arsenal, whose origins date to the 15th century, Beymen—Turkey’s leading luxury fashion retailer, akin to Neiman Marcus in the United States—has unveiled a mind-bending new destination for luxury fashion. 

Designed in collaboration with OMA and fittingly christened the Galleries of Luxury, the 129,000-square-foot flagship marks Beymen’s largest to date. Inside, nine imaginatively designed galleries contrast dramatically with the building’s timeworn masonry. The original shipbuilding halls, some soaring 44 feet beneath exposed roof beams, run perpendicular to the waterfront and connect through monumental arches. Each gallery houses a different retail category, from menswear and womenswear to beauty, fragrance, and homewares, with shoppers wandering through a phantasmagoria of punchy palettes and sumptuous materials. Think lime green resin panels backdropping Alaïa gowns, men’s shoes perched on movable, shard-like recycled plastic display fixtures that resemble marble, and perforated steel wall panels cold-formed to emulate the shape of an existing stone arch. 

Knowing the transformation would be more arduous than a standard-fare retail interior, Beymen sought a world-class architect with a lengthy résumé of adaptive reuse. When Beymen Group CEO Elif Çapçi first approached OMA, the firm founded by Rem Koolhaas initially demurred. “They didn’t want to do a department store,” she recalls. Once she explained the extraordinary nature of the undertaking and they agreed to visit the site, they accepted her offer. 

“They found a way to preserve the history of the building and introduce a very contemporary architectural approach,” Çapçi says of OMA’s intervention, which involved adding an extension along the buildings’ rear and inserting a mezzanine level. In the handbag gallery, the firm suspended giant oval, rectangular, and rhomboid structures finished in decorative plaster overhead to carve out surprisingly intimate-feeling settings within the cavernous hall. The menswear gallery’s procession of powder-coated steel screens, inset with smoked glass, gradually widens toward the waterfront, drawing eyes toward the Golden Horn. Another gallery stuns with a gravity-defying installation by Miguel Rodrigues that undulates overhead like calligraphic brushstrokes, its lustrous gold automotive paint paying tribute to the waterway. Collectible furnishings introduce further surprises, from Mario Belini’s generously cushioned armchairs to Korean artist Saerom Yoon’s glimmering furnishings in translucent acrylic.  

Outside, OMA made room for new plazas, including a secluded garden nestled behind the historic halls. Expansive glazing opens sweeping views across the Golden Horn toward Istanbul’s Old Town, while a waterfront terrace at the in-store café, Bardot Blue, invites shoppers and passersby to settle in over a leisurely alfresco brew. Such interventions give the centuries-old shipyard a marvelous second life—far removed from the days when gargantuan vessels passed through its towering arches. “They didn’t impose anything on the building,” Çapçi says of OMA’s interventions. “They took it as it was and tried to make it relevant again.”  

As the imaginative architecture may suggest, Beymen operates differently from a traditional department store. “Here, everything is selected and purchased by us,” Çapçi tells Galerie. “Curation is our business, and fashion retail is all about curation.” Her discerning eye becomes evident throughout the galleries, which showcase an exceptional assortment of more than 350 brands, including limited-edition creations from internationally acclaimed houses such as Valentino, Brunello Cucinelli, Maison Margiela, Jil Sander, The Row, and Bottega Veneta. Dedicated pop-up areas introduce an ever-changing roster of coveted labels, from an exclusive selection of Phoebe Philo garments to the sumptuous cashmere of Parisian label Kujten. 

Further distinguishing Beymen is a dedicated exhibition hall, which inaugurates its programming with “Timeless Treasures: The Eternal Journey of the Bag,” a sweeping survey of the handbag’s evolution and significance as a symbol of identity and craftsmanship. Curated by fashion journalist Laurence Benaïm with scenography by Bureau Betak, the show unites 80 dazzling creations from 55 luxury houses, many inspired by Anatolia’s craft traditions. Handbags adorned with motifs drawn from İznik ceramics and Ottoman embroidery appear alongside archival treasures, including an 1886 Louis Vuitton wardrobe trunk originally crafted for Sultan Abdülhamid II. Several fashion houses also created exclusive pieces for the exhibition. 

Çapçi attributes Beymen’s success and rapid-fire expansion to the close relationships it has cultivated with clients over its 55-year history. Sales associates know their most valued clients by name and regularly arrange private viewings in their homes. That intimacy has paid off in spades as notions of luxury expand beyond coveted possessions to encompass cultural discovery and memorable experiences. For Çapçi, Beymen Tersane embodies that evolution through wondrous architecture and artistic programming that engages with Istanbul’s heritage. As she sees it, the future of luxury depends on understanding the people who seek it and the culture that surrounds them. At Beymen Tersane, six centuries of history provide a remarkable setting for that vision.