Hermès opens a home in Shanghai
Imagine walking into a house where everything you touch is Hermès. You slip into Hermès ready-to-wear, knot a silk scarf around your neck, dab an Hermèssence on your pulse points, tote the ultra-coveted Birkin bag, sit on a Jean-Michel Frank-inspired chair and drink Champagne from Puiforcat silver.
Such is the experience at a Hermès Maison, or flagship store, and it’s so rare that you can only experience it in five cities around the world.
On Sept. 12, Hermès opened its fifth Maison in Shanghai, China, at 217 Middle Huaihai Road, the Chinese equivalent of Faubourg St. Honoré in Paris, Madison Avenue in New York, the Ginza in Tokyo and Dosan Park in Seoul.
Out of five Maisons worldwide this is its third in Asia, signifying Hermès’s faith in the region and in the Chinese market, in particular — the old world looking towards the new.
“We opened our first store in Beijing in 1997 and since then, more than 20 stores have followed, establishing a faithful Chinese clientele with a passion for beautiful objects,” said Axel Dumas, CEO of Hermès International, who opened the Shanghai flagship together with key members of the Hermès family. “Sixteen years after we are now opening our fifth Maison in the world, which is a big statement.”
His cousin, Pierre-Alexis Dumas, Hermès’ artistic director who was managing director for China in ’97, remembers walking the streets of Beijing with his father at the time and arriving at a crossroads: “And there was a beautiful building,” Pierre-Alexis recalled. “(My father) pointed at the building and said, ‘One day, we shall make a house here.’”
Since that building “unfortunately does not exist anymore,” Hermès chose Shanghai over Beijing after finding another perfect location in the midst of the city’s luxury shopping district.
“It’s a heritage building with a strong history,” Axel says, “a little bit like Hermès where we have a strong history of craftsmanship. We were saddle makers for almost 180 years, and we are cherishing this past. But also it’s very contemporary, and this is what we are doing in Hermès: to always have creativity, always try to invent new things. That’s the way we are climbing with our two feet: one is tradition, the other is creativity. And it’s because of the mix of the two that we are still here after 180 years.”
The house emblem, a firework-maker on horseback, tops the four-story 1920s art-deco edifice, clad in orange brick and H-shaped, naturellement, with 1,174 square meters of selling and exhibition space.
“Hermès Maison Shanghai represents a very important milestone for Hermès China,” said Weiming Cao, president of Hermès Greater China. “We have great confidence for the future of the China market, and we feel that Hermès Maison Shanghai will very quickly become a new lifestyle landmark in this fascinating city.”
As it did for all Hermès Maisons, RDAI (Rena Dumas Architecture Interieure), the architectural firm of former CEO Jean-Louis Dumas’ wife, revamped the space with architect Denis Montel, emphasizing Hermès’ insistence on keeping business all in the family.
After passing a window display of a horse making its journey from France to China by Dutch artist Levi van Veluw, you enter the Maison and find yourself surrounded by a rainbow of scarves and ties. The first floor is devoted to the women’s and men’s silk collections, Hermès’ status-symbol leather bags, enamel and fashion jewelry, as well as a full equestrian collection (red and blue crocodile saddle, anyone?), luggage, agendas, small leather goods, a new collection of writing objects, stationery and silk-covered notebooks, fragrances by in-house perfumer Jean-Claude Ellena, jewelry and watches, plus a leather lounge reserved for special orders.
Amid the sleek Western modernity nothing struck me as overtly Chinese or Asian, until I read more about it and discovered that, while subtle, the store design is actually rich in Chinese elements and materials.
The floors are of grége de soie limestone from the Guizhou region, carpets are made of Chinese wool and silk, and crosscut elm beams were reclaimed from Chinese temples. A special salon for watches, jewelry and haute bijouterie is decorated in rose craquelé lacquer, made of 15 layers applied by a Chinese master.
The staircase, a key feature in Hermès boutiques, twists like a Chinese dragon, and you ascend clutching a handrail covered in full-grained calf leather, hand-stitched by Hermès artisans in their Paris ateliers. (The VIP lift is also finished in the same leather!)
On the second floor, which holds the women’s and men’s “universes” with ready-to-wear and additional silks and shoes, the walls of the women’s shoe lounge are lined in Chinese wild silk-shot taffeta.
My favorite floor, however, was the third, which is devoted to Hermès home: tableware, a selection of crystal from Saint-Louis and silverware from Puiforcat — both Hermès Group brands — with a Puiforcat lounge bar that serves a selection of the best French Champagnes in Puiforcat silver beakers. “La Timbale” furniture lacquered in France in silver and topped with stone, furnishing fabrics and wallpaper collections, workshops for leather goods, tailors and a watchmaker round out the floor.
Hermès’ country manager in the Philippines, Mario Katigbak, says that plans for expanding the Greenbelt 3 store are underway, with more space dedicated to home and interior design services — great news for admirers of Hermès’ clean, modern and luxurious aesthetic.
The top floor is an event and exhibition space that was inaugurated with “The Hermès Horse,” an exhibit curated by Philippe Dumas, an artist and fifth-generation member of the Hermès family, who did a live painting demonstration with a Chinese artist; their freshly painted works were then displayed in metal frames that hung from the ceiling.
“This show is an homage to the roots of our family because we started as harness makers,” said Pierre-Alexis. “The grandson of the founder of Hermès was Emile Hermès, a man passionate about this work and someone who liked to find rare objects. He did a great collection related to the horse and representations of the horse.”
While Emile’s collection is housed in Paris, Shanghai guests got a glimpse via a photo exhibit by Antoine Schneck, who photographed the antique umbrella cane Emile spent all of his pocket money on when he was 12, which today Hermès considers the crown jewel in a collection of paintings, books, souvenirs and other works of art that provide an unparalleled source of inspiration for the house’s designers.
It was Emile who came up with the first-ever Hermès bag, the Haut a Courroies, a large bag for carrying saddles, bits and bridles. Equestrian gear also inspired Hermès’ first piece of jewelry in 1927, the Filet de Selle bracelet, as well as the first leather watch for Emile’s daughter Jacqueline.
Emile’s son-in-law Robert Dumas, an architect who proved himself a creative designer and talented craftsman, created the very first silk scarf in 1937, Jeu des Omnibus et Dames Blanches, which became an instant success. Dumas took over as head of the company when Emile died in 1951.
Another son-in-law, Jean-Rene Guerrand, an experienced businessman, took on the development of couture, perfumes and international relations. Hermès had become a family affair. The company started producing now-legendary products like the Chaine d’Ancre bracelet, the Sac a Depeches bag, which would later be known as the iconic Kelly bag, and Eau d’Hermès perfume.
Robert’s son Jean-Louis Dumas took over as head of the company in 1978. It was he who transformed the house into an international group whose influence was felt around the world. Like his father, he was so good at predicting trends that he was the creative force behind the Birkin bag, born after a conversation with actress-singer Jane Birkin on a flight from Paris to London.
In addition to creating new categories like watches, Jean-Louis bought brands that shared similar values of craftsmanship and design like boot-maker John Lobb, Saint-Louis glassware, and silversmith Puiforcat. (Continuing this tradition in China, the Hermès Group is backing luxe lifestyle company Shang Xia, which aims to revive the ancient Chinese arts of porcelain, cashmere felt and furniture.)
Not bad for an artisan harness-maker whose very first client was a horse.
Today Hermès is present in 51 countries, has 318 stores, and employs over 11,000 people worldwide. With 16 métiers, or product families, including the recently added Petit H, which uses castoff Hermès materials like leather and silk to create new, creative and covetable pieces, in 2013 Hermès saw a sales turnover of 37.5 billion euros distributed evenly between Europe, America and Asia.
Exclusively for the inauguration of the Shanghai Maison, Hermès crafted special products in Chinese red and Shanghai blue like that crocodile saddle, alligator bags, mini-bags embroidered with sapphires or red silk threads, the Pégase d’Or couture scarf, the limited-edition Arceau Chevaux Cocotte watch, of which only eight pieces were made from champlevé enamel in various shades of red with a matte Hermès red alligator strap, and the Galop Hermès necklace, bracelet and ring — all in white gold in the form of a horse’s head entirely encrusted with diamonds.
Despite China’s economic slowdown, Cao claims the artistry in Hermès products is what appeals to the Chinese most, making them financial crisis-proof.
“Without any doubt we will continue building up our magical stories here in China,” Cao said.
“Seventeen years ago we planted the seed in China, and today it is a magnificent tree,” added Pierre-Alexis.
“It’s very telling that we’re opening in the 50 years of French-Chinese diplomatic relationship,” noted Axel. “Sometimes it’s good to look in astrology, and we’re opening in the Year of the Horse, so I hope it will bring good luck to this store. It’s a home, that’s why we call it a home, which means we open it to you and receive you as family members.”
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In the Philippines, the Hermès boutique is located at Greenbelt 3, Ayala Center, Makati.
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