Hermès

Hermès appointed Grace Wales Bonner Creative Director of Men’s Ready-to-Wear on 21 October 2025. Her first Hermès collection is scheduled for January 2027.

Hermès announced on 17 October 2025 that Véronique Nichanian would present her final men’s ready-to-wear collection in January 2026, closing a tenure begun in 1988.

Gregoris Pyrpylis joined Hermès Beauty around 2022 and serves as its creative director. Pierre Hardy separately directs the design of Beauty objects.

The École Hermès des savoir-faire opened on 6 September 2021 with accreditation for the CAP Maroquinerie. The school formalised training for leather-working skills within the house’s production system.

Beauty became Hermès’s sixteenth métier in 2020 with the Rouge Hermès launch context. Current authorship is divided between Beauty creative direction and the design of Beauty objects.

Hermès International entered the CAC 40 index in 2018. The event reflected the scale reached by the family-controlled group without changing its métier-based creative structure.

Godefroy de Virieu became creative director of petit h in 2018, succeeding Pascale Mussard. The current Hermès role confirms a continuing, separately directed workshop programme.

Axel de Beaufort was described in 2017 as design and engineering director of Hermès special projects and now serves as Creative Director of Ateliers Horizons. The programme develops made-to-measure mobility and interior projects.

Fondation d’entreprise Hermès launched Manufacto in 2016. The programme introduces school pupils to craft through sustained practical projects and forms part of the house’s broader transmission work.

Christine Nagel took over leadership of Hermès olfactory creation and heritage in 2016, officially succeeding Jean-Claude Ellena. The transition preserved a named perfumer-author structure within the perfume métier.

Apple and Hermès introduced Apple Watch Hermès on 9 September 2015, combining Apple hardware and interfaces with Hermès leather straps and watchmaking references. The first products became available in October 2015.

Hermès appointed Nadège Vanhee-Cybulski artistic director of women’s ready-to-wear on 24 July 2014. Her Autumn–Winter 2015 debut opened an ongoing wardrobe built through leather, equestrian construction, cashmere and silk.

Hermès announced Christophe Lemaire’s departure on 21 July 2014 so he could focus on his own label. He completed the tenure with the Spring–Summer 2015 collection shown on 1 October 2014.

Christine Nagel joined Hermès Parfums in 2014 as exclusive Perfumer Creator, beginning a planned transition from Jean-Claude Ellena. She formally took over olfactory creation and heritage in 2016.

Alexis Fabry has co-directed the Hermès home universe with Charlotte Macaux Perelman since approximately 2014. Public title wording has evolved from deputy artistic director of Hermès Maison to artistic director of the home universe.

Charlotte Macaux Perelman has co-directed the Hermès home universe with Alexis Fabry since approximately 2014. Their remit spans furniture, lighting, rugs, textiles, tableware and objects developed with both the in-house studio and external designers.

Axel Dumas became Executive Chairman in 2013, returning operational leadership to a sixth-generation family member. He remains one of Hermès International’s executive chairmen.

Christophe Goineau became creative director of men’s silk around 2011 after joining Hermès in 1987. He now directs men’s silk and men’s-universe designs, a remit distinct from men’s ready-to-wear.

The Hermès home universe launched furnishing fabrics and wallpapers in 2011. The programme broadened art de vivre while remaining distinct from the separately rooted Puiforcat and Saint-Louis maisons.

Hermès family shareholders created H51 in December 2011 and pooled a controlling block of shares for twenty years. The arrangement responded to LVMH’s stake-building and reinforced long-term family control.

Hermès announced Jean Paul Gaultier’s departure on 26 May 2010 and named Christophe Lemaire as his successor. Gaultier’s final collection was Spring–Summer 2011, presented in October 2010.

Christophe Lemaire joined Hermès women’s ready-to-wear in 2010. His collections ran from Autumn–Winter 2011 through Spring–Summer 2015, developing a relaxed wardrobe through volume, natural materials and leather.

Pascale Mussard created petit h in 2010 as a workshop beginning with unused materials from Hermès manufactures. The programme reverses the normal design sequence by allowing available remnants to determine the object.

Hermès presented its first Haute Bijouterie collection in 2010, extending the jewellery métier into a dedicated high-jewellery programme. Exact collection title and presentation details require further archive recovery.

Philippe Delhotal joined Hermès around 2008 to lead watch creation. He serves as Creation and Development Director of Hermès Horloger, with responsibility for the overall design of its timepieces.

Hermès created the Fondation d’entreprise Hermès in 2008 at Pierre-Alexis Dumas’s initiative. The foundation established a separate platform for creation, exhibitions and craft transmission.

Patrick Thomas took over operational leadership in 2006 at Jean-Louis Dumas’s request. He reorganised Hermès by geographical regions during the transition back to family executive leadership.

Pierre-Alexis Dumas was appointed Artistic Director of Hermès in 2005. His role coordinates artistic and creative directors across métiers without making him the author of every collection or object.

Jean-Claude Ellena became Hermès’s exclusive perfumer in 2004, establishing a clear modern in-house authorship structure for fragrance. Christine Nagel joined the programme in 2014 and formally succeeded him in 2016.

Hermès announced Jean Paul Gaultier for women’s ready-to-wear on 18 May 2003. His tenure ran through the Spring–Summer 2011 collection shown in October 2010 and remained separate from menswear and his own house.

Hermès opened major maisons in New York in 2000 and Tokyo in 2001, followed by an e-commerce site in 2002. The sequence joined global retail architecture to a new digital sales channel.

Martin Margiela directed Hermès women’s ready-to-wear from 1997 to Spring–Summer 2003, producing twelve collections. His wardrobe centred comfort, movement, modular construction and discreet material quality.

Hermès integrated the Saint-Louis crystalworks in 1995. Saint-Louis remained a distinct craft maison within the group rather than becoming an Hermès internal métier.

Olivier Châtenet, co-founder of Mariot Chanet, joined the Hermès women’s design team in the early 1990s and was named among the studio designers present in 1997.

Michèle Meunier, co-founder of Mariot Chanet, joined the Hermès women’s design team in the early 1990s and was named among the studio designers present in 1997.

Hermès listed a minority portion of its capital in Paris in 1993 while retaining family control. The listing introduced public shareholders without replacing the house’s family-governed structure.

Hermès integrated Puiforcat in 1993, adding a distinct silversmithing maison to the group. Puiforcat retained its own history and identity within the group.

Hermès moved its leather workshops from 24 Faubourg Saint-Honoré to Pantin in 1992. The production site later expanded into the Cité des métiers.

Hermès International became a société en commandite par actions on 27 December 1990. The structure separated executive management from supervisory power and reinforced long-term family control.

Marc Audibet contributed to Hermès women’s design during the early 1990s and was part of the team named at the 1997 transition. His work belonged to the collective studio period preceding Martin Margiela’s appointment.

Tomas Maier worked for approximately nine years in and around the Hermès women’s ready-to-wear studio and identified Claude Brouet as his mentor. His work belonged to the collective studio period that preceded Martin Margiela’s appointment.

Pierre Hardy joined Hermès around 1990, first working on women’s and then men’s shoes. He now directs shoes and jewellery and designs the objects of the Beauty métier.

Hermès appointed Claude Brouet Director of Women’s Fashion in 1988. She headed a studio of named designers and specialist contributors until approximately 1996, before the Margiela transition.

Tan Giudicelli contributed to the Hermès women’s design studio under Claude Brouet and was named in the team present during the 1997 transition. Signed Hermès drawings place his work inside the studio from approximately 1988 to 1992.

Jean-Louis Dumas invited Véronique Nichanian to Hermès in 1988. She led men’s ready-to-wear and, in later official wording, the men’s universe through her final collection on 24 January 2026.

Hermès’s 150th anniversary in 1987 inaugurated the annual theme tradition. The system coordinates storytelling across métiers without assigning all resulting work to one artistic author.

Hermès dates the Birkin bag to 1984 and links its development to a conversation between Jean-Louis Dumas and Jane Birkin during a flight. The capacious leather form answered a request for a practical bag and became one of the house’s most recognisable objects. A wide opening, two handles, flap and belt closure organised a large everyday volume without separating utility from precise leather construction. The object carried the logic of travel luggage into a bag designed for daily use.

Eric Bergère took charge of Hermès ready-to-wear collections in 1980, succeeding Catherine de Károlyi in the clothing remit. He led the wardrobe through 1988, when Claude Brouet assumed direction of women’s fashion.

Hermès established La Montre Hermès in Biel in 1978, making watchmaking a dedicated métier. The structure separated watch development from jewellery and ready-to-wear authorship.

Jean-Louis Dumas became chairman and managing partner in 1978. His tenure expanded the retail network, workshops and métier portfolio while bringing distinct outside authors into ready-to-wear.

Hermès recruited Bernard Sanz for men’s ready-to-wear in 1977. He was also co-credited with Eric Bergère on a spring collection reviewed in 1984.

Nicole de Vésian joined the women’s studio as a styling consultant while Catherine de Károlyi directed the wardrobe. Her contribution belonged to a collaborative studio structure rather than an autonomous collection tenure.

Hermès acquired the Paris workshop of John Lobb in 1976, opening the group to shoe manufacturing. John Lobb retained its identity as a distinct shoemaking maison.

Hermès published the first issue of Le Monde d’Hermès in 1973. The house journal created a recurring editorial system for products, artists, travel and institutional storytelling.

Catherine de Károlyi was entrusted with the Hermès women’s wardrobe in 1967 and led two clothing collections a year until 1980. Contemporary reporting called her modéliste; her remit also included accessories.

Edmond Roudnitska composed Eau d’Hermès in 1951, the point Hermès identifies as the beginning of its modern olfactory programme. The fragrance extended the house’s material vocabulary into scent through leather, spice and the atmosphere of travel objects. Its launch established named perfumer authorship inside Hermès, a structure later continued through Jean-Claude Ellena and Christine Nagel.

Eau d’Hermès, composed by Edmond Roudnitska in 1951, established the modern Hermès fragrance programme. It opened a named perfumer lineage that later included Jean-Claude Ellena and Christine Nagel.

Jean-René Guerrand jointly assumed management with Robert Dumas in 1951. His period in leadership coincided with the house’s postwar expansion across perfume, clothing and objects.

Robert Dumas and Jean-René Guerrand jointly assumed management after Émile-Maurice Hermès’s death in 1951. Robert Dumas’s period brought sustained postwar development across silk, ties, perfume, jewellery and household objects.

Hermès introduced printed silk ties in 1949, extending scarf drawing and silk production into menswear accessories. The often-repeated Cannes casino story remains a house-origin anecdote rather than sole documentary causation.

Hermès dates adoption of the horse-and-carriage Duc attelé, groom à l’attente emblem to 1945. The image joined the house’s visual identity directly to its saddlery origin.

Hermès adopted orange packaging during wartime material shortages around 1942. What began as a supply constraint became a stable part of the house’s visual identity.

The Chaîne d’ancre bracelet converts the scale and articulation of an anchor chain into a repeated silver link. Hermès associates the design with Robert Dumas and places its creation around 1938. The motif’s alternating oval links and central bar gave jewellery a mechanical clarity close to the house’s harness hardware. It became a persistent code across bracelets, rings, bags and other objects.

Jeu des omnibus et dames blanches was launched in 1937 as the first Hermès silk square. The object established the carré as a durable format through which drawing, colour and textile printing could circulate independently of ready-to-wear. Its square construction made an illustrated textile usable as scarf, belt, head covering or garment detail. That combination of image and function established women’s silk as a recurring Hermès métier.

Hermès launched its first silk square, Jeu des omnibus et dames blanches, in 1937. The event established a durable silk programme, although the exact division of artistic and production authorship remains under archival review.

Hermès introduced the Sac à Dépêches in 1928 as a structured leather bag with a compact, trapezoidal body and top handle. It forms an early point in the object history later associated with the Kelly. During the 1930s Robert Dumas developed a related ladies’ bag, and photographs of Grace Kelly carrying the form in the 1950s changed its public identity. The Kelly name belongs to that later history, not to the 1928 title.

Émile-Maurice Hermès engaged Lola Prusac in 1927 to design bags, leather clothing and coordinated outfits. Her mixed remit placed a named fashion author inside the house’s early clothing programme.

Hermès dates its first men’s ready-to-wear garment, a golf jacket, to 1925. The programme extended the house’s sporting and leather expertise into women’s and men’s clothing.

Hermès marketed a rounded, zipped bag for automobile travel in 1923 after obtaining limited rights to use a sliding fastener. Functional names included sac auto, sac de ville and sac de voyage, all describing a form adapted to the new conditions of car travel. The bag joined a modern closure to reinforced leather construction and compact luggage proportions. Hermès adopted the name Bolide for the family in 1995.

Hermès obtained limited exclusivity or licensing for a sliding fastener and adapted it to leather goods, gloves and clothing. The 1923 zipped automobile bag made the change visible, but Hermès did not invent the zipper.

Émile-Maurice Hermès bought Adolphe Hermès’s shares in 1922 and restored the singular Hermès name. Under his control, the house extended saddlery knowledge into travel goods, clothing and a growing set of product programmes.

Hermès opened a shop-workshop in Chantilly in 1912. The location followed equestrian clients and combined retail, fitting and repair services.

Adolphe and Émile-Maurice Hermès operated in association under the Hermès Frères name from the early twentieth century. Émile-Maurice acquired his brother’s shares and restored the singular Hermès name in 1922.

The Haut à courroies adapted saddlery construction to travel, using a tall leather body and straps to carry riding boots and a saddle. The bag family existed by the end of the nineteenth century and later Hermès chronology places it around 1900. Its height, reinforced base and encircling straps translated equipment made for horses into an object made for riders in transit. The form became an early foundation for the house’s travel and bag programmes.

Charles-Émile Hermès moved the workshops to 24 Faubourg Saint-Honoré and opened a store there in 1880. The move joined production and retail at the address that became the house’s institutional centre.

Hermès received a first-class medal at the 1867 Paris Universal Exhibition for a harness made under Charles-Émile Hermès’s direction. The award placed the second-generation workshop within the period’s international culture of craft and industry.

Charles-Émile Hermès assumed operating responsibility in 1859, before formally succeeding Thierry Hermès after the founder’s death in 1878. His period connected the original workshop to the later Faubourg Saint-Honoré house.

Thierry Hermès opened a harness and saddlery workshop at 56 rue Basse-du-Rempart in Paris in 1837. The workshop established Hermès within the professional trade serving horse transport.