BAGGED BY A PRINCESS
I’ve always admired the luxury brand Hermès and held it in high regard. So, I’d like to share with you some interesting vignettes that I’ve discovered among my research that may be new to fellow Hermès aficionados
Hermès is a French, family-owned business established in 1837. We know it for its handbags and those covetable silk scarves but it also has watches, home furnishings, perfumery and jewellery. Its iconic logo, celebrated worldwide, is a Duc carriage with horse. Hermès is not a conglomerate in the real sense of the word. It stands autonomously strong, without diffusing its identity by running a portfolio of brands like its key competitors such as LVMH. It is the quintessential heritage brand.
At the very heart of Hermès, through six generations, lies its passion for impeccable craftsmanship. Hermès artisans actually shape their own tools to fit their hands so they can adapt their tools to their movement and bodies. The intriguing members of Hermès family dynasty are hands-on too. In 1938, Chairman-to-be Robert Dumas created the Verrou clutch bag, which closed with an authentic silver bolt. Robert dreamed of being an ironmonger and was constantly looking for ways of integrating mechanical devices into his bags. A Verrou was actually bought by Andy Warhol when he spotted it in the Paris Flea Market and he gave it to Ultra-Violet, the muse of his legendary Silver Factory in New York. How cool is that.
Grace Kelly's departure from Hollywood. This simple trapezoid bag was first created in the 1930s by Robert Dumas-Hermès. Originally named Sac à dépeches, the name ‘Kelly’ was given in honour of Grace Kelly, the Hollywood star who married Prince Rainier III of Monaco in 1955. Through its association with the Princess, it has become one of the most iconic and popular handbags of all time.
The association between Hollywood star Grace Kelly and Hermès is legendary. Look at our beautiful image of her, above, taken in the 1950s, with Hermes bag in the crook of her arm, leaving her acting life behind to marry Prince Rainier and become Princess Grace of Monaco. It is said she later used her Hermès handbag to shield her baby bump from the paparazzi, and a picture made the front cover of Life magazine. The bag was dubbed the ‘Kelly’. The rest is history.
In 1983, with a flash of serendipity, Jean-Louis Dumas, the son of Robert Dumas, was sitting next to an actress on a flight to London from Paris. Out of her bag she spilled her Hermès diary and a wad of papers and girl stuff. The actress was Jane Birkin, who grumbled she could never find a bag with enough pockets. Being a homme gentil, Jean-Louis helped scooped up the contents. He introduced himself and quickly sketched out a design. When he returned to base he instructed his workshops to make the bag of Jane’s dreams. He met Jane again and presented her with a strong, roomy and convenient bag. Its name? The legendary Birkin of course! Like the Kelly, the Birkin became humanised. Such brilliant marketing.
Hermès ‘Sac Mallette’ handbag 1968 Paris. This Sac Mallette features two separate compartments. The top one opens via two sliding side latches and a push button, similar to a capacious doctor’s bag. The lower compartment is secured with a lock and key, and once opened reveals a deep red velvet interior that could be used to keep valuables safe while travelling.
Now this final story is so romantic. In the autumn of 1786 the Metta Catherina, a brigantine moored in Saint Petersburg, set sail for Genoa. It carried hemp and a quantity of “Russian Leather” as favoured by the Tatars and Marco Polo for its rich red colour, resistance to water and insect-repellant smell. Ultra fine, it was tanned for several months in a vat containing willow and birch bark, then rinsed and nourished.
Sailing through the English Channel a storm blew and on December 10, trying to shelter in Plymouth Sound, the Metta Catherina sank. The crew was saved but the cargo sank to bottom of seabed. In 1973 archaeological divers found the wreck. The boat had disintegrated but amazingly the leather in its hold had survived the currents and centuries. Over the following 30 years, with the support of the International Council of Museums, divers worked to salvage a large part of the treasure. The leather rescued from the silt was cleaned and nourished. In 1994 a few of the hides were purchased by Hermès. A Sac a Depeche and a Kelly were crafted and carefully preserved as a gift of the past. This is the magic of Hermès.
Thank you to the V&A Museum London for supplying the two Hermès images used in our feature. These beautiful bags will be on show at the V&A’s forthcoming exhibition Bags: Inside, sponsored by Mulberry. The exhibition is now scheduled for Saturday November 21st and tickets go on sale on the V&A website on 15 September. Make a note – Handbag Homage will be running a special Bags: Inside Out Preview to coincide! #BagsInsideOut
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