Collection SS2016: Dragonflies

One of my most beloved artists commissioned by the Maison to mesmerize us, Leigh Cooke is proposing in 2016 a poetic, lighter-than-light touch in a vintage format, design that conjures a flutter of dragonflies and damselflies, those most ethereal, fairy-like insects.  The latter bear a close resemblance to their cousins, but their bodies are narrower, and they carry their wings folded upright above them when they alight on a surface.  

The artist’s studio stands beside a pond surrounded by flowers and reeds.  

The endless ballet of these fragile Odonota (their scientific name) was the inspiration for this composition, rippling gently like the water’s surface.  

Leigh Cooke began the watercolour after a dragonfly flew right into his studio.  While he was at work on the picture, another – the biggest he has ever seen – settled on his windowsill as if to watch.

Collection SS2015: In the Pocket

One of my most favourite designs ever created by Hermes, In the Pocket is an invitation to a mesmerizing and full life.  Little remnants forgotten in the corners of our pockets - or possibly inside the coats as they made their way inside the lining - tell stories of attending concerts and balls, adventures and attempts at building or fixing many objects in our lives.  Looking back, I smile at the great times, remembering perhaps an outfit worn on a special occasion, my fixing a fence or even enjoying a cup of hot cocoa from a wonderful cup.

The colours are unapologetic, unlike the original edition - and this pattern remains, after all the wonderful designs I've seen still one of my all-time favourite ones...

Collection FW2007: In the Pocket

Another variation on the theme of "In the Pocket" is this truly phenomenal scarf, depicting an outstanding taupe background. The little objects that are forgotten in corners of our pockets - coins, paper clips, buttons, the corner of a newspaper, an elastic - are active story tellers, their murmur bringing our experiences past back to life. A remarkably distinguished and exceptionally elegant colour that renders this design one as of the most exquisite scarves ever produced. The designer, the very talented Leigh P. Cooke.

Collection FW2007: In the Pocket II

Another colour variation on the theme of "In the Pocket" by Leigh P. Cooke, this scarf continues to make me think of my beloved grandmother.  Delicate and refined, with a tremendous presence without inconveniently imposing, this design features a baby blue background while in itself, the scarf is the personification of absolute femininity.  To me, this is an object of rare beauty that is both unique, like a piece of art, and meaningful.

Not everyone would be able to wear the baby blue colour, I find, but this design would be perfect for anyone who can sport pastel colours. There is something about the lightness of the colours that appealed instantly to my senses and continues to enchant me to this day.

Collection FW2007: In the Pocket

While spending time in Japan in the summer of 2007, I became aware of the "pearls" of the new collection for the Fall/Winter season, of which "In the Pocket" is a fine example.   

Hermes chooses an annual theme to be explored in the scarf designs , and collections are spread every year over two seasons: Spring/Summer and Fall/Winter.

"Shall We Dance" was the 2007's theme, and "In the Pocket" was released later in the year, as part of the Fall/Winter collection.  Since the seasons are loosely defined, the scarves in the Spring/Summer edition are released around November of the previous calendar year, while the Fall/Winter scarves hit the boutique shelves in mid-May.

The impact that this scarf has had on me is so strong, no other scarf has ever come close to matching it.  To date, it remains my all-time favourite for the strong and profound emotions it stirs in me, of reverence, of reflection, of joy and of pure enchantement.  So powerful has the impact of this design been, in fact, that I find every colour combination highly desirable (except for the light, pastel green, which is a difficult colour to wear for most people).  The baby blue, the pastel pink, the white, the dark green - each adds a different pitch to the harmony of this remarkanble and unforgettable design.

Today's post features one variation of this scarf, in "anthracite gray" with an orange hem, which to this day remains one of the most sought-after, wildly admired and collectible scarves the Maison has ever produced.

Designed by Leigh P. Cooke (I found out the artist is a male), the scarf has a unique spirit encapsulated by its name beautifully: "in the pocket" features the many objects (and in particular, the remnants of objects, neglected or lost) that we tend to keep - and forget - in our pockets.  Treasured mementos that whisper some of the greatest, most remarkable and most memorable moments of our lives. These fragments - buttons, pencil stubs, entry tickets, scraps of paper and coins, the remnants of our lives' feasts - give our lives the profiles we call "character".  They find refuge in the silence of our pockets, our bags, our drawers, our memory, yet their murmurs tell stories drawn from our memories.  This scarf is a masterful tribute to all those items that bring back the memory of great things past, and which make our hearts race and our minds take refuge in nostalgia.

Unlike Galileo Galilei, who had a fascination with symmetry, I treasure equally geometric patterns and apparent disorder.  While there's no apparent order in this pattern, the elements of the design, taken as a whole, form a very balanced landscape, infusing a mysterious harmony into the overall scarf.  Quite fascinating.  

This colour combination in particular continues to trigger record sums at private sales, one such scarf having been acquired for close to USD560 in October 2009 (at a time when a new scarf was retailing for USD375).