Who needs expensive glossies when you can pick up this standard of editorial excellence free from an Hermes store? The autumn-winter 2014 issues of Hermes’ magazine has a feel of The Gentlewoman and Fantastic Man, both in the handsome casting and styling of its womenswear shoots (this one’s shot by Julia Hetta and styled by Camille Biddault-Waddington) and in the quiet and precise mood of its men’s accessory shoot… (more…)
“It takes two years to make and two minutes to buy!” So says Kamel Hamadou, the affable communications manager of Hermès silk, hosting a rare tour of the company’s silk printing facilities in Lyon. Two weeks ago I was invited on a whirlwind trip to learn the many meticulous stages of making one of those familiar silk ‘carrés’ of which I’m the proud owner of a few, neatly folded and stored in their equally familiar flat orange boxes.
My most astonishing discovery? The utter complexity of printing involved in a silk scarf of many colours. The average scarf has around 30 colours, of which each shade has its own precise mixing process. The printing itself has to be seen to be believed, but next week, you’ll have the chance to see it all when Hermès’ Festival Des Metiers lands on the London leg of its world tour. (more…)
Hermes is showing its latest Hermes Editeur scarf collaboration with Hiroshi Sugimoto at Art Basel til tomorrow. The silk scarves of Sugimoto’s Polaroids are a lesson in pure colour that Hermes has produced using a new inkjet printing method. You can see the whole range of scarves on the Hermes Editeur site (the behind-the-scenes photos are quite something), alongside the previous collaboration with Josef Albers. In fact, Sugimoto and Albers complement each other quite beautifully…
If this year wasn’t all about extravagant scarf prints, next year certainly will be. If you’re going to buy a posh silk scarf, you might as well make it an Hermes one and to entice you even more, Hermes has set up a special pop-up scarf boutique at Harrods (in the Room of luxury 2 on the ground floor) where every Wednesday and Friday afternoon between now and 2nd January 2012, you can learn how to tie a scarf like a pro. (more…)
