Hermès

Founded by Thierry Hermès in 1837

Thierry Hermès established himself as a master craftsman with a workshop in rue Basse du Rampart, Paris, making hernesses to sell to the carriage-maker of the Champs Elyées. Saddlery was added in 1879 and the business moved to 24 Faubourg-Saint-Honoré, where the flagship shop still stands. Thierry’s grandsons, Adolphe and Emile-Maurice, spread the Hermès name wordwide, supplying the Imperial Court of Russia and clients in South America. After the First World War and the demise of the horse-drawn carriage, Hermès made small leather goods – wallets, handbags and luggage. In 1922 Emile-Maurice bought his brother’s share of the business and the building. Leather goods were soon followed by clothing, costume jewellery, diaries and silk squares printed with original designers, the first of which appeared in 1937. In the late 1950s a fragrance division was launched.

In 1988 Claude Brouet was appointed design director and was responsible for the renaissance of the revamped Kelly bag – named after Princess Grace of Monaco – a cut handbag of the 1950s. Martin Margiela was appointed to design the ready-to-wear collection in 1997.