Collection FW2015: Brides de Gala Brodé

Brides de gala is without doubt the house's most celebrated carré.  Its subject?  The equestrian world, of course.  The flamboyantly decorative bridles, and the perfection of the composition, capture the essence of the timeless Hermès spirit. 

Its title, short and to the point, has the same, direct impact as the dazzling show bridles themselves, evoking the clink of buckles and chains to the rhythmic, majestic beat of the horses' hooves.  Leïla Menchari reinvented this classic design, having it reworked by the nimble fingers of her master embroiderers.  The sharp, detailed image took on a more sensual, velvety feel.  Framed as an element in one of Leïla's unforgettable window displays, the piece was subsequently hung in the office of Hermès president Jean-Louis Dumas, to whom she presented it, as a souvenir.

Collection SS2015: Ex-Libris Vichy Arashi

This is the first of three posts, taking us on a trip to the roots of the history of colour.  This artisanal line celebrates a natural pigment: indigo, the original blue.

The indigo bush’s leaves, the richest in this precious blue dye, are harvested in the Blue Village of Bangladesh.

"Arashi" (storm in Japanese) is one of the "shibori" techniques that results in diagonal stripes, reminiscent of a rainstorm.

The silk is flat-frame printed in the Hermes workshops in Lyon. Dye artisans use traditional reserve techniques to dye it with intense colours of blue.

Bibliothèque

The last leg of my trip was spent in Romania, the place of my birth whose name alone triggers a unique vibration for me.  For personal reasons (which I'll reserve for later posts), the trip has been full of very intense emotional experiences, and as much as I find them taxing not least because I love living and experiencing the world feelingly, I always find myself looking back with nostalgia for the place, in my heart, that is "my Romania".

I credit my own upbringing in Romania for the passion that I have been cultivating for books, in general, and for reading.  And this post is most appropriate to pay tribute to the objects in our lives that invite us to discover places and people of far-away lands without leaving the comfort of our own home.  I am definitely one of the folks who not only take refuge in the comfort of a book, but also use every opportunity to savour books published in Romanian (as an intimate part of the culture, the language is for all of us the most readily available mechanism that allows us to feel connected to our culture - and that couldn't be more true in my case).

"Bibliotèque" ("Library") depicts the treasures that we all strive to acquire in our attempt to quench the curiosity that takes hold of us from the earliest age.   

A stunning design where the pattern of select books, suggestive of covers of glorious stories, are harmoniously matched with colours that stir the viewer.  My passions for books and impeccable silk fabrics are perfectly matched in this design.

So I bid you farewell until next week, for I must hurry to shop for some new titles, which I'm only too eager to add to my own personal "biblioteque".

Tribute to Great Friendships: Collection FW2009: Dip Dye Brides de Gala

The design of this scarf is the iconic "Brides de gala" ("Gala Bridles"), first released in 1957 and subsequently re-issued numerous times (1967, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1998, 2000, 2004 to name just a few, created on silk, mousseline, cashmere/silk, cotton and in 2009, carre fluid on silk jersey and pleated silk) before yet another reinterpretation - this time, on a different "canvas".

This post focuses on the latest reissue of this classic and emblematic design, in 2009, on dip dyed-silk. This is a new technique experimented by Hermes (so far, featuring only this design) whereas the scarf is immersed in a dye bath that imprints a colour filter giving it the velvety feel of washed silk (further enhancing the "vintage-style" collection recently launched). The aged, patinated appearance and irregularities in colour are the expression of its charm and unique identity.

It is with this description in mind that I dedicate this scarf to a very dear friend of mine who has witnessed me grow and whose zest for life continues to be a kindling and inspiring force behind my desire to live life at its fullest and touch countless people with my spirit.