Hermès opens a major exhibition entitled Leather Forever Exhibition at the former Police Married Quarters (PMQ) on the 7th September 2014 to celebrate Hermès’ relationship with leather. Leather is the first material tamed by Hermès and remains its noblest conquest. Over one hundred and seventy seven years of fashioning it, of innovation without compromise, have made leather the saddler’s privileged, personal medium of expression, as fluent as a mother tongue.
At Hermès, skin is what goes deepest. the house will never claim to have fully mastered leather, but it will always take the greatest pride in having studied its lessons so thoroughly. It is by handling the finest leathers - chosen, cut, sewn and polished with expert skill that six generations have learned and passed on the values that inspire Hermès’ dynamism: attachment to quality, perfectionism (even in hidden details), and respect for time, all
conjoined with creative verve.
Because Hermès’ love of fine material perfectly crafted is as great today as it was on that first day, its craftsmen and designers are constantly pushing back the frontiers. The heirs of tried and trusted techniques, they strive constantly to invent new uses for leather, new feats and new forms of elegance to match the movements of modern men and women.
Bespoke upholstery for a helicopter, car or bicycle, a modular saddle combining leather and carbon fibre, a bag that folds and moulds itself to our moods or dreams of tomorrow, a skin bedecked with feathers or diamonds, a fairy tale made real – these are some of the challenges to which they have brilliantly risen.
Alexandra Plat, who designed the scenography for this exhibition and also others from Hermès who succeeded in expressing the poetry and luminosity of leather with such talent.
The playful evocation of the relationship between Hermès and leather, a tale with many a twist yet to come. Behind the fun and games, though, you may also find some simple, profound answers to that desire for things of lasting worth, a desire that is so powerfully resonant in this new century.
Hermès was founded by Thierry Hermès in Paris in 1837, as a house of master harnessmaking and later saddle-making. Six generations of enterprising artisans have explored new markets and new skills and the company has grown whilst still remaining true to its founding values. This exhibition takes you on a poetic journey exploring Hermès’ love for its treasure: the most beautiful skins in the world.
They have been raised, prepared, tanned and selected awaiting the touch of the fingers of its other treasure: our talented artisans. Craftspeople from the Hermès workshops in Paris is present at the exhibition demonstrating the art of leather, cutting, assembling, stitching, working for its metamorphosis by creating some of its iconic bags in situ.
As Pierre-Alexis Dumas, Artistic Director and sixth generation family member explains: " Sometimes I picture my ancestor Thierry Hermès back in 1837, his eyes lighting up as he breathes in and feels the leathers of the saddle and harness workshop he has just set up in Paris…the same olfactory joy thrills me today".
To celebrate this exhibition, two Passe-Guide bags that have been specially conceived by Hermès in black smoothed crocodile with white-gold leaf on the scales and tone-on-tone jewellery and will be presented in a dedicated room.
Hermès Leather Forever Exhibition:
Venue :
PMQ, 35 Aberdeen Street, Central, Hong Kong.
Opening Hours:
Monday to Sunday 11am until 8pm
Exhibition ends:
28th September 2014.
Free Entrance
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