May 27, 2010,
1:13 pm
Inside the Hermès Design Choice
By
CATHY HORYN
Hermès isn’t just the gold standard for well-made products; it’s also one of the few family-run companies in fashion. It can afford to do things a little differently.
Yesterday’s announcement that the Paris house had hired Christophe Lemaire for women’s ready to wear, succeeding Jean Paul Gaultier, raised a few eyebrows. It’s a bit of an unconventional choice, given that Mr. Lemaire, at Lacoste for the last decade, isn’t a big name like Mr. Gaultier or his predecessor Martin Margiela. This morning I spoke to Pierre-Alexis Dumas, the general artistic director of Hermès — and a sixth-generation member of the family — about the thinking behind the choice.
Q.
Some people in the industry are surprised.
A.
Really? I’m very happy.
Q.
Well, Christophe is not a prominent name.
A.
Ah-hah. I remember when the transition from Martin to Jean Paul created a lot of surprise. Some of our retail patrons were worried. They said, ‘We respect Jean Paul, but don’t you think it’s going to change the nature of Hermès?’ I think Jean Paul did a wonderful contribution to Hermès, giving an expression we did not expect. He surprised in a creative way.
I think the appointment of Christophe is very ambitious. Maybe in five years I will look back and think it was a terrible mistake — or a wonderful surprise. I like that. I think we need that. Hermès is really born out of movement. Christophe shares very simple and basic values with Hermès. There is a definite love of simplicity without losing a sense of fantasy and joy. And there is a history at Hermès, if you go back to the 1920s, of chic-sportive fashion. In the ’20s, there was already a sense of clothes serving a function, to go outdoors. I can see Christophe building on the reference of sport-and-chic.
Q.
Sportswear and function also describe the style of many women today. To me, Gaultier represents couture and exceptional tailoring, though he does casual clothes too.
A.
The last thing I would like is Christophe trying to be Gaultier, which he is not. I do agree that Christophe is going to address the issue of women dressing today. I don’t want to put too much pressure on him or project too much. I think he knows what awaits him. This is a big challenge. We have a lot of trust. Of course there’s relevance if you look at his background at Lacoste. But Hermès is different. He will have access to incredible materials and great crafts. It’s going to be a different look, a fresh look on our history. I’m very curious to see the results.
Q.
Did Christophe present a brief or sketches of his ideas for Hermès?
A.
I think you have to trust your intuition. There was no brief, no sketches. We looked at what he has done. And we looked at the work of quite a few people. I think the answer came quite naturally. When I look at an object or a garment or a building, I always try to understand the intention behind it. I also look at consistency. My feeling was that this was a man who loves life and celebrates life. I say this with deep conviction. Life is short, life is beautiful. It’s such a great chance to try to make beautiful objects. You need to have that passion and drive. I saw that in him. Jean Paul has it, too — that crazy desire to go beyond.
Also, Christophe is a very calm person. He’s discreet. It’s funny, in way. We’ve gone from one extreme to the next. We had Martin, who nobody knew — that was his nature. Then we went to Jean Paul, who loves to talk and meet people. Now we have someone who’s in between, who puts his work forward before himself and doesn’t try to run way from the crowd, but is rather discreet. I like that posture.
It’s not that we were avoiding a famous name. What comes first now is talent. And talent can be famous or unseen and unknown but there. It’s our role as professionals to really look at everyone and try to make a match that fits the values of the company. I have to say we were the first to be surprised when we made the decision. We looked at each other and said, ‘It’s Christophe.’ We knew he was the right person. I think it’s very healthy to force oneself to not necessarily go for what is obvious.
Q.
How is Hermès structured? Véronique Nichanian does men’s fashion, but how are the creative teams organized?
A.
I call Hermès a mini department store. To simplify, there are men’s products, women’s, and products for the home. My role as artistic director is to develop all those areas for Hermès. I asked Véronique last year to oversee the men’s area, including accessories. I’ve been working with Bali Barret and asked her to be my deputy for all the women’s fashion and accessories. She’s been at Hermès six years. Christopher will be director of the women’s studio and will be working with everyone on that team. Bali will review with him his work on a regular basis, as much as needed, and I review with them maybe once a week or once every two weeks.
Q.
Given that Hermès is perhaps best known for its leather goods, how important, ultimately, is ready to wear?
A.
The strength of a house like Hermès is balance. Even though leather is very strong it’s not the majority of our sales. There’s a good balance among all of our categories. You know, in the early ’90s silk scarves were 50 percent of the mix — which was mad. It was a dangerous situation because a few years later people got fed up. Today leather is strong, but history teaches us that none of these things last long. We have to make a constant evolution of our lines and never take anything for granted. I believe very strongly in ready to wear. Our recent success with men’s wear is very encouraging. We’ve had very consistent results with the women’s ready to wear since Martin. I have great faith in Christophe. I’m looking for ready to wear that’s chic and functional and easy to wear, with all the values you expect from Hermès.
But it's true!
in my mind, it's like dior homme going from hedi slimane to kris van assche. kris has some great stuff, but he's no hedi.
