By Min-Yu Chen, MBA in International Luxury Brand Management 2013-2014, Taiwan
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Office of Emile Hermès
Photo by M. Guy Lucas de Peslouan |
Our class was very privileged this year to be able to visit the Hermès Museum, which is normally only open to Hermès designers and VIP clients. Located on the second floor of the repair studio next to the Faubourg Saint-Honoré store, we were greeted by Mme Stéphane Laverrière, a conservator, who turned out to be full of fascinating stories about the history of Hermès and the artifacts on display in the museum.
The museum is a family collection started by Emile Hermès, the grandson of the founder, Thierry Hermès. Emile started this collection in 1883 when he was 12 years old, saving up all his pocket money to buy an antique, cream-colored cane that was manufactured in 1801. The special aspect of this cane was the green silk parasol hidden inside, which Emile immediately identified as a timeless piece due to its clever design and function. These were the types of artifacts that we saw in the museum, with some of the oldest dating to 2500 B.C and originating from different countries across all continents in the world.
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Office of Emile Hermès
Photo by M. Guy Lucas de Peslouan |
The three themes of the collection are horses or equestrian culture, art, and travel & carriages, all of which are very much a part of Hermès’ roots. The objects are so much alive that they bring new ideas and inspiration for Hermès craftsmen, and as the company paves its path forward, it often refers back to these inspirational objects. We were shown many unique pieces such as Japanese saddles and stirrups, leopard skin saddles from the Middle East, a miniature Hermès bag from the 1950s, traveling trunks meant to hold an entire tea set, a thick album of silk samples, and even a miniature carriage set made of thousands of tiny rolls of paper, crafted at the end of the 18th century by nuns as a way to pass their time.
An hour was much too short, as there were still many treasures to discover and explore, but within that hour we learned and understood much more about Hermès’ culture that we would ever have imagined.
