THE BEGINNING OF HERMÈS EVEN PEOPLE WHO AREN’T INTO LUXURY GOODS KNOW THAT A HERMÈS BIRKIN HANDBAG IS A VERY SPECIAL AND COVETED ITEM. NOT TO MENTION THAT IT’S ABOUT AS EXPENSIVE AS A SMALL COMPACT CAR, OR EVEN A ROLLS ROYCE IN SOME CASES.
6 HERMÉS THE HISTORY
THE HISTORY HERMÉS 7
M
ORE ACCESSORIES and other clothing types soon followed, as Émile-Maurice ran the brand, taking over control in 1919 and, three years later, bought out his brother’s shares. He noticed the demand for saddlery, leading him to steer Hermès towards the making of “saddle-stitched” leather goods and trunks for the customers who traveled by car, train or ship. He expanded the company, launching the leather goods and baggage lines. AFTER REALIZING the company was entering the age of automobiles, Émile-Maurice acquired a two-year patent for the zipper, which was known as the “Hermès Fastener.” Once the zipper was introduced, clothing was transformed. The zipper opened and closed in a flash, a perfect mechanism to secure a handbag or jacket in a shorter amount of time than with a button or other type of closure. The first ever Hermès leather jacket with a zipper was worn by the Duke of Windsor. OTHER ENTREPRENEURS such as Coco Chanel wanted to learn from Hermès due to its rapid growth and popularity. One of the original zippers which wasn’t flat like today’s zippers is actually archived in the Hermès Museum, which was once Émile-Maurice’s office. It’s at the top of the store, in a long rectangular room with oak walls and windows lined with emerald velvet curtains.
HERMÉS MUSEUM
12 HERMÉS THE HISTORY
ÉMILE-MAURICE was quite
GOLF AD FROM 1929
a collector since the age of 12, so many of his trinkets and prized collections ended up in the Hermès Museum today. Things like bejeweled saddles for Eastern warriors and Russian leather for Western kings, stirrups forged in Peru, bridles from Africa and India. In this room there are phaetons and victorias made as tiny as toys, or scaled as salesman’s models. A galloping horse on tricycle wheels, its horsehair face worn bald by too many kisses, belonged to Napoléon III’s son, the Prince Imperial. GENERAL GEORGE PATTON’S SIGNATURE is in the museum guest book. And a royal carriage on a table, created from paper slips rolled between finger and thumb, the art of paperole, is a masterpiece probably made by a nun. Andy Warhol also visited the museum. The severe black wool sidesaddle suit, or amazone, of Julie Hermès, Émile-Maurice’s wife, recently served as inspiration for the Miss Julie–esque costuming of Madonna’s Confessions tour. And if the collection’s parasol made of pheasant feathers hadn’t been so fragile, it would have taken part in Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette. Coppola did have use of an 18th-century hunting knife and a ray-skin spyglass called an indiscrète, which were accompanied to the set by Ménéhould de Bazelaire, the museum’s curator since 1986. Keep in mind that in order to see the museum, someone needs to have an appointment. It’s not generally open to the public.
THE HISTORY HERMÉS 13
THE BEGINNING OF HERMÈS EVEN PEOPLE WHO AREN’T INTO LUXURY GOODS KNOW THAT A HERMÈS BIRKIN HANDBAG IS A VERY SPECIAL AND COVETED ITEM. NOT TO MENTION THAT IT’S ABOUT AS EXPENSIVE AS A SMALL COMPACT CAR, OR EVEN A ROLLS ROYCE IN SOME CASES.
6 HERMÉS THE HISTORY
THE HISTORY HERMÉS 7
M
ORE ACCESSORIES and other clothing types soon followed, as Émile-Maurice ran the brand, taking over control in 1919 and, three years later, bought out his brother’s shares. He noticed the demand for saddlery, leading him to steer Hermès towards the making of “saddle-stitched” leather goods and trunks for the customers who traveled by car, train or ship. He expanded the company, launching the leather goods and baggage lines. AFTER REALIZING the company was entering the age of automobiles, Émile-Maurice acquired a two-year patent for the zipper, which was known as the “Hermès Fastener.” Once the zipper was introduced, clothing was transformed. The zipper opened and closed in a flash, a perfect mechanism to secure a handbag or jacket in a shorter amount of time than with a button or other type of closure. The first ever Hermès leather jacket with a zipper was worn by the Duke of Windsor. OTHER ENTREPRENEURS such as Coco Chanel wanted to learn from Hermès due to its rapid growth and popularity. One of the original zippers which wasn’t flat like today’s zippers is actually archived in the Hermès Museum, which was once Émile-Maurice’s office. It’s at the top of the store, in a long rectangular room with oak walls and windows lined with emerald velvet curtains.
HERMÉS MUSEUM
12 HERMÉS THE HISTORY
ÉMILE-MAURICE was quite
GOLF AD FROM 1929
a collector since the age of 12, so many of his trinkets and prized collections ended up in the Hermès Museum today. Things like bejeweled saddles for Eastern warriors and Russian leather for Western kings, stirrups forged in Peru, bridles from Africa and India. In this room there are phaetons and victorias made as tiny as toys, or scaled as salesman’s models. A galloping horse on tricycle wheels, its horsehair face worn bald by too many kisses, belonged to Napoléon III’s son, the Prince Imperial. GENERAL GEORGE PATTON’S SIGNATURE is in the museum guest book. And a royal carriage on a table, created from paper slips rolled between finger and thumb, the art of paperole, is a masterpiece probably made by a nun. Andy Warhol also visited the museum. The severe black wool sidesaddle suit, or amazone, of Julie Hermès, Émile-Maurice’s wife, recently served as inspiration for the Miss Julie–esque costuming of Madonna’s Confessions tour. And if the collection’s parasol made of pheasant feathers hadn’t been so fragile, it would have taken part in Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette. Coppola did have use of an 18th-century hunting knife and a ray-skin spyglass called an indiscrète, which were accompanied to the set by Ménéhould de Bazelaire, the museum’s curator since 1986. Keep in mind that in order to see the museum, someone needs to have an appointment. It’s not generally open to the public.
THE HISTORY HERMÉS 13
THE WORKSHOPS OR ATELIERS
HERMES FACTORY ARTISANS THE WAY THAT THE LUXURY GOODS are made at Hermès is different than many brands. For one thing, the work is done by hands with tools that includes awls, mallets, needles, knives, and stones that populate the workbench of every Hermès artisan, each of whom is five years in the making. HERMÈS IS DIFFERENT from other luxury brands in that it is not so much a design identity as it is a culture, a rarefied world with its own values and ways of working, the way the grandfathers of our grandfathers did. Retired workers don’t leave the company; they join its Club des Anciens, “the ancients,” which meets for monthly lunches and yearly trips and is a living library of company history and wisdom. The ancients are as much Hermès as the Hermès family members, who even with advanced degrees in other fields may find themselves drawn back to their native ground of leather, silk, and the saddle stitch. SO YOU CAN IMAGINE that the factories are run a bit different from a traditional factory. For one thing, they are referred to as ateliers and house intimate workshops where the artisans are able to craft each item. Most of the ateliers are located within France and Hermès makes most of their own goods. These ateliers usually house about 200 to 300 people in a family-life setting where most of the staff know each other personally. The focus is on slowly made goods with the utmost care and craftsmanship. THE ARTISAN WORKSHOPS are all located in France. Here are some of the notable locations where the craftsmanship is birthed into the Hermès world.
28 HERMÉS HEADQUARTERS AND ARTISAN WORKSHOPS
THE WORKSHOPS OR ATELIERS
HERMES FACTORY ARTISANS THE WAY THAT THE LUXURY GOODS are made at Hermès is different than many brands. For one thing, the work is done by hands with tools that includes awls, mallets, needles, knives, and stones that populate the workbench of every Hermès artisan, each of whom is five years in the making. HERMÈS IS DIFFERENT from other luxury brands in that it is not so much a design identity as it is a culture, a rarefied world with its own values and ways of working, the way the grandfathers of our grandfathers did. Retired workers don’t leave the company; they join its Club des Anciens, “the ancients,” which meets for monthly lunches and yearly trips and is a living library of company history and wisdom. The ancients are as much Hermès as the Hermès family members, who even with advanced degrees in other fields may find themselves drawn back to their native ground of leather, silk, and the saddle stitch. SO YOU CAN IMAGINE that the factories are run a bit different from a traditional factory. For one thing, they are referred to as ateliers and house intimate workshops where the artisans are able to craft each item. Most of the ateliers are located within France and Hermès makes most of their own goods. These ateliers usually house about 200 to 300 people in a family-life setting where most of the staff know each other personally. The focus is on slowly made goods with the utmost care and craftsmanship. THE ARTISAN WORKSHOPS are all located in France. Here are some of the notable locations where the craftsmanship is birthed into the Hermès world.
28 HERMÉS HEADQUARTERS AND ARTISAN WORKSHOPS
FOUR GREAT DIRECTORS HERMÈS IS A UNIQUE LUXURY COMPANY BECAUSE THEY DIDN’T ALWAYS MAKE CLOTHING. IT’S NOT EVEN WHAT THEY ARE REALLY KNOWN FOR IN THE GENERAL PUBLIC’S AWARENESS. THE FIRST WOMEN’S READY-TO-WEAR COLLECTION CAME OUT IN 1967 DESIGNED BY CATHERINE KAROLYI. SHE WAS THE ONE RESPONSIBLE FOR CREATING THE FAMOUS “H” BUCKLE THAT IS STILL VERY POPULAR TODAY.
42 HERMÉS NOTABLE HEAD DESIGNERS
NOTABLE HEAD DESIGNERS HERMÉS 43
FOUR GREAT DIRECTORS HERMÈS IS A UNIQUE LUXURY COMPANY BECAUSE THEY DIDN’T ALWAYS MAKE CLOTHING. IT’S NOT EVEN WHAT THEY ARE REALLY KNOWN FOR IN THE GENERAL PUBLIC’S AWARENESS. THE FIRST WOMEN’S READY-TO-WEAR COLLECTION CAME OUT IN 1967 DESIGNED BY CATHERINE KAROLYI. SHE WAS THE ONE RESPONSIBLE FOR CREATING THE FAMOUS “H” BUCKLE THAT IS STILL VERY POPULAR TODAY.
42 HERMÉS NOTABLE HEAD DESIGNERS
NOTABLE HEAD DESIGNERS HERMÉS 43
THE FAMOUS HERMÈS SCARF THERE IS SOMETHING TIMELESS AND ELEGANT ABOUT A CLASSIC HERMÈS SCARF. THE ORIGINAL SCARF COULDN’T BE MORE SIMPLE, JUST A LARGE SQUARE IN SILK IMPORTED FROM CHINA.
56 HERMÉS CLOTHING
CLOTHING HERMÉS 57
THE FAMOUS HERMÈS SCARF THERE IS SOMETHING TIMELESS AND ELEGANT ABOUT A CLASSIC HERMÈS SCARF. THE ORIGINAL SCARF COULDN’T BE MORE SIMPLE, JUST A LARGE SQUARE IN SILK IMPORTED FROM CHINA.
56 HERMÉS CLOTHING
CLOTHING HERMÉS 57
HERMÉS RUNWAY
HERMÉS RUNWAY
THE BIRKIN, THE KELLY BAG AND MORE
THE FIRST LEATHER HANDBAGS WERE INTRODUCED BY HERMÈS IN ����.
124 HERMÉS HANDBAGS
HANDBAGS HERMÉS 125
THE BIRKIN, THE KELLY BAG AND MORE
THE FIRST LEATHER HANDBAGS WERE INTRODUCED BY HERMÈS IN ����.
124 HERMÉS HANDBAGS
HANDBAGS HERMÉS 125
HERMÉS RUNWAY
HERMÉS RUNWAY
ENTERTAINMENT IS ALL ABOUT HERMÈS HERMÈS HAS BEEN WIDELY FEATURED IN FILM AND TELEVISION. THESE ITEMS ESPECIALLY, THE BIRKIN AND THE KELLY BAG ARE SYMBOLS OF WEALTH, ELEGANCE, AND AFFLUENCE. THEY ARE MADE TO DENOTE SOCIAL CLASS IN SHOWS AND ON FILM IN A WAY THAT MANY OTHER OBJECTS JUST CANNOT. WHEN SOMEONE IS CARRYING A HERMÈS ITEM, IT’S EASY TO SPOT AND RECOGNIZE.
176 HERMÉS POP CULTURE
POP CULTURE HERMÉS 177
ENTERTAINMENT IS ALL ABOUT HERMÈS HERMÈS HAS BEEN WIDELY FEATURED IN FILM AND TELEVISION. THESE ITEMS ESPECIALLY, THE BIRKIN AND THE KELLY BAG ARE SYMBOLS OF WEALTH, ELEGANCE, AND AFFLUENCE. THEY ARE MADE TO DENOTE SOCIAL CLASS IN SHOWS AND ON FILM IN A WAY THAT MANY OTHER OBJECTS JUST CANNOT. WHEN SOMEONE IS CARRYING A HERMÈS ITEM, IT’S EASY TO SPOT AND RECOGNIZE.
176 HERMÉS POP CULTURE
POP CULTURE HERMÉS 177
S
O, WHAT WILL THE FUTURE OF HERMÈS LOOK LIKE? Well, on basic terms they will keep making gorgeous luxury pieces that everyone wants to own. Some of the main people involved in Hermès right now are creative director Nadège Vanhee-Cybulski and Axel Dumas, the chief executive officer (CEO) since 2014. Axel Dumas is a 6th generation member of the Hermès-Dumas family. His uncle is Jean-Louis Dumas, who ran the company from 1978 to 2006. HERMÈS CONTINUES to outperform most competitors in the luxury market, even amid broader economic slowdowns with sales growth of around ~9.8 % in Q4 2025 and full‑year revenue climbing to about 17 billion. Sales increases were driven by leather goods, jewelry, ready‑to‑wear, and accessories, especially in the Americas and Asia‑Pacific. ANALYSTS NOTE that Hermès has rarely been negatively affected by slowdowns the way some larger luxury houses have, because demand for its most coveted items, like Birkin and Kelly bags, remains very strong. Rather than flooding the market, Hermès keeps supply constrained, especially for leather goods, which keeps demand higher than supply. That makes items like Birkins very hard to get and helps preserve their status and resale value. HERMÈS BOASTS very high operating margins (above 40 %, well above many luxury peers) and robust geographic performance, with especially strong demand in North America, Japan, and Europe.
232 HERMÉS THE FUTURE
TOKYO STORE
THE FUTURE HERMÉS 233
S
O, WHAT WILL THE FUTURE OF HERMÈS LOOK LIKE? Well, on basic terms they will keep making gorgeous luxury pieces that everyone wants to own. Some of the main people involved in Hermès right now are creative director Nadège Vanhee-Cybulski and Axel Dumas, the chief executive officer (CEO) since 2014. Axel Dumas is a 6th generation member of the Hermès-Dumas family. His uncle is Jean-Louis Dumas, who ran the company from 1978 to 2006. HERMÈS CONTINUES to outperform most competitors in the luxury market, even amid broader economic slowdowns with sales growth of around ~9.8 % in Q4 2025 and full‑year revenue climbing to about 17 billion. Sales increases were driven by leather goods, jewelry, ready‑to‑wear, and accessories, especially in the Americas and Asia‑Pacific. ANALYSTS NOTE that Hermès has rarely been negatively affected by slowdowns the way some larger luxury houses have, because demand for its most coveted items, like Birkin and Kelly bags, remains very strong. Rather than flooding the market, Hermès keeps supply constrained, especially for leather goods, which keeps demand higher than supply. That makes items like Birkins very hard to get and helps preserve their status and resale value. HERMÈS BOASTS very high operating margins (above 40 %, well above many luxury peers) and robust geographic performance, with especially strong demand in North America, Japan, and Europe.
232 HERMÉS THE FUTURE
TOKYO STORE
THE FUTURE HERMÉS 233
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