The company's name alone evokes sighs of desire among those in the know - an international following ranging from fashionistas to housewives, royalty, social climbers, equestrians and CEOs. In the case of Hermès, the company's guiding principle remains its fierce commitment to the quality of each of its products. I would argue that Hermès' initiatives within the company promote a definition of its workforce as artistic artisans, which feeds into a publicly projected vision of its artisans as folk artisans whose behind-the-scenes history is revealed through carefully orchestrated PR and marketing campaigns.
After reviewing the company's history, Chapter 1: Artisans as Artisans examines definitions of "craft" using the works of scholars Sôetsu Yanagi and Karl Marx. The chapter draws on the author's interviews with Hermès artisans and examines a number of internal initiatives such as Addresse, Fête de l'Addresse, the Hermès Museum and the Conservatoire to shape the company's definition of its workforce as artists and artisans. In Chapter 2: Artisans as Vernacular Artisans, I argue that Hermès' external initiatives represent artisans as vernacular artisans and, through the orchestrated humanization of the company's ateliers, create an emotional connection with consumers that reinforces Hermès' commercial advantage.
The chapter focuses specifically on the volumes devoted to the company's iconic products: a Kelly bag, saddle and silk. I argue that by associating Hermès with arbiters of taste, both past and present, the company actively engages in the production and distribution of cultural capital.
ARTISANS AS ARTIST CRAFTSPEOPLE
Émile-Maurice understood that in the age of the automobile, his customers would undoubtedly demand leather accessories. It was the time of the creation of the company's two iconic products - a silk scarf and a Kelly bag. Her longevity at the company is not unusual, as most of the artisans spend their entire professional lives at Hermès, a sign of their commitment to the company.
The pride of the Hermès artisans is rooted in the impeccable quality of their work, achieved through hours of meticulous craftsmanship. The latter, to the disdain of the Hermès craftsmen, faked the stitches on their trunks by only penetrating the leather and then gluing it to the wooden base. There is a clear parallel between the positioning and the perception of the French chocolate and the Hermès goods.
In November 2013, I visited the museum in the company of Menehould de Bazelaire, Director of Cultural Heritage and curator of the Hermès Museum. It represents the soul and spirit of Hermes,” de Bazelaire said of the museum. 40 Menehould de Bazelaire, Director of Cultural Heritage and Curator of the Hermès Museum, in discussion with the author, November 2013.
It is an internal memorial to the work and ingenuity of the several generations of Hermès.
ARTISANS AS FOLKCRAFTSMEN
The pride the workers take in their creations is a running theme of the film's narrative. The pride and the passion captured in the film reveal to the viewers a human dimension of the studios. As a viewer of Hearts and Crafts, one might have a skeptical attitude towards the authenticity of the film's message and interpret it as Hermès' corporate.
Indeed, Hearts and Crafts plays into the hands of Hermès' commercial strategy by encouraging consumers to think about the number of hours and the kind of highly skilled people it took to make each of Hermès' expensive products. Having personally visited Hermès' production center in Pantin, I can attest to the authenticity of the workers. Most of the people I spoke to during my visit and those captured in the documentary have been with the company for twenty to thirty years – an unusual loyalty in an era of job change and career advancement.
The site offers mini-profiles of the craftsmen in the film, including their portraits and brief biographical stories, as well as the film's screening times and locations. However, the format of the exhibition was democratic and presented the craftsmen as welcoming folk craftsmen. The exhibition's theatrical setting, with tools, leather and silk displayed as stage props to aid the artisans in their performance, is a subtle but carefully orchestrated way of distancing the image of Hermès artisans in the minds of consumers from the industrial process.
Although the magazine details the artisans' handiwork, it is the end product - a colorful beach towel - that is the focal point of the story. Yet the emotional connection established by the behind-the-scenes story of the long hours, the personal dedication and the age-old skills that go into a towel's creation encourages a consumer to take solace in the enduring value of the handmade and take a dive on an expensive piece of Hermès terry cloth. The premise of the book is that the extraordinarily detailed movements and skills of the Hermès craftsmen are so exclusive that they create their own language, a chanson de gestes, which is only understood within the closed world of the.
After asking artisans about the book, I didn't feel a strong visceral response to it and found them confused by some of the terminology and the general premise of the book. Hermès' public initiatives may purport to reveal the inner workings of the company's ateliers inhabited by artisans, yet there is a clear commercial purpose behind this carefully constructed brand image. Crafts exposes the inner world of Hermès artisans and presents them as ordinary people with whom the audience can relate and be inspired.
KOTO BOLOFO’S LA MAISON
To answer these questions, we must first consider the meaning of the images in La Maison. Bolofo's images alternate between still lifes of the materials, tools and parts of the bag, all of which are often captured within the bag. They then become, in a broader context, a message of French craft heritage and set the overall tone for Bolofo's story of the bag's construction.
In keeping with other action shots of Bolofo inside the atelier, the images of the craftsman unconsciously carving the handle show handiwork and dexterity. Bolofo captures the soft yet rigid arc of the finished handle in several still lifes. The precious red crocodile skin acts as a sign of quality, rarity and beauty of the material.
Perhaps this is also a message from the artisans about the control of the animal world itself, its taming and domestication. At the end of the long and painstaking process, the craftsman proudly displays his beautiful creation. Le Sac Kelly ends with a color image of the Kelly bag and a black and white shot of the studio.
Bolofo places the red crocodile bag in the center of the picture as if he were taking a portrait of an attractive woman. The bag's portrait is juxtaposed with a black and white image of the studio, shot from afar with a wide-angle lens. Selles/Sadles is more subdued and consists primarily of black and white photographs of the saddle maker's workshop.
Bolofo concludes the volume with close-ups of the finished seats, carefully stacked on top of each other. They seem to be constantly aware that the perfection of the print depends on the perfection of the engraving. The message of handcraft and its traditions continues into the final stage of production – the actual printing of the silk scarves.
The idea of French traditional craftsmanship dominates Bolofo's photographs of the artisans going about their day-to-day tasks. The images of the saddle makers - the guardians of Hermès' original technique, indicate expert skill and craftsmanship.
ARTISTIC COLLABORATIONS
He was in fact one of the best designers of the time," explained artist Alberto. 142 Pierre-Emmanuel Martin-Vivier, Jean-Michel Frank: The Strange and Subtle Luxury of the Parisian Haute-Monde in the Art Deco Period (New York: Rizzoli, 2008), 9. This actually increases the quality of the materials and the perfection of the finish and savoir-faire.151.
In his Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgment of Taste, Bourdieu defines the concept of cultural capital as. Seeing the book's images of the exuberant sporting activities in stylish outfits captured by a celebrated French photographer probably helps to create a cultural recognition and an emotional connection between the Hermès customers and the company's active wear. The release of the book, which coincided with the launch of the Hermès ski wear, seems like a smart marketing move on behalf of the company that aligns its new collection with the French artistic and historical past.
I was impressed that the scarves had the aesthetic and intensity of Mark Rothko's works, and at that moment I became a believer in Hermes' idea of scarves as contemporary art. The projects confront the artisans with real technical challenges that push the boundaries of the company's savoir-faire. Hermès' capitalization of contemporary artistic trends and French heritage are part of the company's self-conscious positioning as a distinctive, culturally significant and quintessentially French luxury brand—an effort that serves an obvious business purpose.
The prestige and desirability of Hermès goods, such as the Birkin bag, is based on the company's unwavering commitment to the quality of each of its handcrafted products, combining beauty with thoughtful functionality and a resulting deep sense of humanity. On the other hand, it justifies the premium of the company's products to its customers and maintains their appeal to consumers. Hermès knows that its profitability and its position at the top of the luxury goods market depend on the superior quality and myth behind its products.
This corporate storytelling constructs a depiction of the company as a friendly home, emotionally connecting the public with Hermès' artisans and consequently fostering consumer brand loyalty. But the zealous pursuit of perfection aside, the company's goal is ultimately to produce things that people want to buy. And basically the client understands that, which is the main point at the end of the day. 206.
The artisans put their heart and soul into the bag, and when the customer buys it, they buy a bit of Hermès' ethics. Jean-Michel Frank: The strange and subtle luxury of the Parisian Haute-Monde in the Art Deco period.
