Harnessing History
Hermès Is notorious for its Birkin; the handmade leather, ostrich, or alligator skin bag introduced in 1984 that was inspired by the actress Jane Birkin when the contents of her bag spilled out on a flight next to past Hermès chief executive Jean-Louis Dumas. Social media famous and ever so popular among wealthy clientele, the Birkin bag is just one small fragment of the intriguing history of Hermès. In the year 1837, Thierry Hermès began to create some of the most high-quality harnesses for French noblemen and a private clientele. The harnesses were such a big hit and of such incredible quality that Thierry Hermès won a first class medal at the Exposition Universelle, the second world’s fair in Paris in 1867. In 1878 Thierry Hermès passed away and left the company to his son Charles-Emile Hermès and his grandsons Adolphe and Émile-Maurice Hermès.
After his passing, the new location for Hermès became the still-open 24 Rue Faubourg Saint-Honoré location in Paris where clientele extended internationally with the global elite craving the luxury saddles Hermès had to offer. In the early 1900s, the Haute-à-Courroies bag came to be, the first Hermès bag which allowed people to carry their saddles luxuriously. Soon after, the business was solely in the hands of Adolphe and Émile-Maurice who rebranded Hermès as Hermès Frères (Hermès Brothers) and gained the exclusivity of using a zipper on leather goods in France. This was a new device little-known to be used on leather goods in France and this unique implementation widely popularized the brand and gave it the trademark of the “Hermès zipper (Or Hermès Fastener)”.
Fast forward 100 years after Hermès was started, the first silk scarves were introduced, instantly becoming a huge hit and famously worn by both Jacqueline Kennedy and Queen Elizabeth II.
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