"Leather forever" - a way of communication

When talking about luxury and design as well as brand identity I remember visiting an exhibition called "forever leather", which has been created by Hermès (Hermès, 2012). The exhibition took place in the Royal Academy of Arts in London in May 2012 (Hermès, 2012).

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The exhibition was open to everyone for free and its date was planned very strategic as it took place in the year of the Queen's diamond jubilee and the Olympics, so a huge traffic was guaranteed. The exhibition was not only created to increase brand awareness though but also to further create a dream, tell the story of the brand as well as explain its heritage and show typical materials as well as iconic items (Hermès, 2012).

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What impressed me most was that as part of the exhibition there were two french artisians, making iconic bags like the Kelly and the Burkin bag. Next to those ladies was an employee who was in charge of answering questions from visitors and translating questions visitors were asing the artisians, who only spoke French. One of the ladies for example explained the different tools she was using to make a Kelly bag and she mentioned that Hermès only hires people with a fashion background like for example skilled tailors and couturiers. However those people still have to do an inhouse training at Hermès in France which takes four years before they can start making pieces for the brand (Hermès, 2012).

Furthermore she told me that by looking at the stitching of the bags you can see which employee has created the bag as every single one of them has its own tricks and styles of stitching.

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So no matter if those stories are true or not - the possibility to ask questions and see people making the products gave a very personal note to the brand in my opinion and enhanced the dream to buy one of those amazingly handcrafted Hermès products. 


References:

Hermès (2012). Leather forever. London: Royal Academy of the Arts.