Hermès in the Future and Now (Long and assez important)
- Thread starter Liberté
- Start date
I think there are people who will carry Birkins and Kellys (and other name bags by designers) because they think it is the fashionable thing to do at the moment ... and yes, then, they will move on. And there are others who will buy and stick with a brand because of the craftsmanship and design and the popularity (or lack of same) will make no impact.
I have personally loved the Birkin style for years and years and am terrifically happy that I am now able to indulge in the real thing. I hope the bag will stand the test of time in terms of quality and based on what I know about Hermes, I believe it will and if not, that they will stand behind their wares.
And there may well be more bags at resale after people who look at them as a fashionable thing (and not necessarily a stylish thing - and there is a difference), move on. I personally believe that the Hermes style, with some minor exceptions, is exactly that - style that is largely immune to the vagaries of fashion. And I hope that their craftsmanship will also stand the test of time.
I have personally loved the Birkin style for years and years and am terrifically happy that I am now able to indulge in the real thing. I hope the bag will stand the test of time in terms of quality and based on what I know about Hermes, I believe it will and if not, that they will stand behind their wares.
And there may well be more bags at resale after people who look at them as a fashionable thing (and not necessarily a stylish thing - and there is a difference), move on. I personally believe that the Hermes style, with some minor exceptions, is exactly that - style that is largely immune to the vagaries of fashion. And I hope that their craftsmanship will also stand the test of time.
I agree. I think perhaps once the fashion changes, you are going to see far more Birkins at resellers, as the bandwagon latches onto another item/brand. I'm not hugely educated re: fashion or anything, but the fact that the Birkin is more available now than it was a few years ago (at least in Europe) is a telling sign. People are going to become bored of its ubiquity. Also, I don't mean to be rude about Victoria Beckham, but she certainly isn't comparable to Grace Kelly in the style stakes, and Jane Birkin now carries a sporran instead of her Birkin(or at least she did!).[/quote]
Yes a sporran
and she jumps all over new birkin bags on a Japanese Tv progarmme , just shows what she thinks of them now
Guess time will tell.
good of Liberte to post this thread,
Liberte - Thank you for starting this conversation - it is very informative & interesting.
Orchids - I think this is very well stated. GG - the bloggosphere is such a huge influence on perception these days! The impact our own community must be significant to be sure.
When I was 15, my mother bought me my very first coach bag - and at a time when you could still register your all leather coach bag with NY and send it in to be repaired - I never took advantage, but my father did and they restored his bag to perfection. Once they did away with this practice - and went "en masse" I was turned off by the brand (as was my family). It will sadden me greatly if the day arrives when this could happen for H.
Quality is bound to suffer in any industry when expansion happens at such a fantastic pace. I hope the individuals they are investing in remain with the company for many years to come so that, overtime, their quality will be sustained if not improve! Should they continue to expand at such a break-neck pace - their quality is bound to to suffer and, at some point, the name and reputation will wear thin, which would be a sad day indeed.
Orchids - I think this is very well stated. GG - the bloggosphere is such a huge influence on perception these days! The impact our own community must be significant to be sure.
When I was 15, my mother bought me my very first coach bag - and at a time when you could still register your all leather coach bag with NY and send it in to be repaired - I never took advantage, but my father did and they restored his bag to perfection. Once they did away with this practice - and went "en masse" I was turned off by the brand (as was my family). It will sadden me greatly if the day arrives when this could happen for H.
Quality is bound to suffer in any industry when expansion happens at such a fantastic pace. I hope the individuals they are investing in remain with the company for many years to come so that, overtime, their quality will be sustained if not improve! Should they continue to expand at such a break-neck pace - their quality is bound to to suffer and, at some point, the name and reputation will wear thin, which would be a sad day indeed.
Thanks for that very thought provoking post.
I've purchased items from both an ex-Hermes craftsperson's business and Hermes.
It isn't surprising that the ex-Hermes craftsperson is talking about the demise of Hermes quality. The cynic inside me thinks that perhaps the more they discuss H's decline of craftsmanship, the better it is for their independent businesses! (The one I patronized confided the same sort of thing to me about Hermes quality.)
The items that I've purchased from Hermes have all been great quality--made well, beautiful stitching. No problems. However, I do see the wave of expansion and new designs changing the traditional fashion House. There are so many people clamoring for H bags, its going to have to change to keep up with the supply.
For what its worth, the items that I purchased from the ex-H craftsperson are very well made, but seemed to lack the same "finish" that I've found with the H goods that I've purchased in the past.
That said, its great that there is choice for beautiful handmade leather goods! Plus, in going to the independent ex-H craftspeople, you can really get exactly what you want made. (It still took a year though to receive the items.)
I've purchased items from both an ex-Hermes craftsperson's business and Hermes.
It isn't surprising that the ex-Hermes craftsperson is talking about the demise of Hermes quality. The cynic inside me thinks that perhaps the more they discuss H's decline of craftsmanship, the better it is for their independent businesses! (The one I patronized confided the same sort of thing to me about Hermes quality.)
The items that I've purchased from Hermes have all been great quality--made well, beautiful stitching. No problems. However, I do see the wave of expansion and new designs changing the traditional fashion House. There are so many people clamoring for H bags, its going to have to change to keep up with the supply.
For what its worth, the items that I purchased from the ex-H craftsperson are very well made, but seemed to lack the same "finish" that I've found with the H goods that I've purchased in the past.
That said, its great that there is choice for beautiful handmade leather goods! Plus, in going to the independent ex-H craftspeople, you can really get exactly what you want made. (It still took a year though to receive the items.)
I thought this was interesting:
Friday, February 22, 2008
'Luxe' By Hermes' Christian Blanckaert: An Outsider's Inside View Of The Luxury Industry
A Parisian friend who works in the luxury industry recently sent me a copy of 'Luxe', a book written by Christian Blanckaert. Blanckaert is head of Hermes' international division and his book is a collection of brief but insightful observations about Hermes and the luxury industry in general. Blanckaert himself is an interesting figure. He came to Hermes not from a rival luxury brand but rather from Thomson, the French technology and electronics giant. His perspective therefore blends both the access of an insider with the fascination of an outsider who hasn't developed the myopia of those who have known only the luxury industry and nothing else.
The book is worth reading for the many insights it offers on Hermes' way of doing business. Most importantly, it offers a glimpse of those qualities that set Hermes apart from the rest. For instance, faced with a shortage of skilled artisans to meet growing demand for their coveted products, Hermes could easily have taken the route followed by other luxury brands such as shifting from handmade artisanal production to assembly-line production techniques. Hermes could also have opted to outsource production to cheaper overseas markets. Instead, Hermes turned to an economically depressed area of France and set up training programs for the region's unemployed residents thereby creating long term employment and stimulating economic growth for an entire region. Not an obvious choice given the strength of the Euro and the softening economy but an obvious one for Hermes.
What emerges from this collection of musings is the portrait of a company deeply committed to its heritage and willing to place quality and longevity of the Hermes brand above quarterly profits. Sadly, what also emerges is the conclusion that Hermes is in an increasingly lonely category - 'true luxury'. I use the term 'true luxury' because the term 'luxury' alone doesn't really mean anything anymore. Its overuse and misappropriations by marketeers and brands alike have eviscerated any original meaning the term once had. Perhaps this explains why in a world that counts an ever increasing number of 'luxury' brands trying to sell often dubious goods to an ever increasing number of millionaires and billionaires, a two-year waiting list for a Birkin bag suddenly seems perfectly reasonable. So, for those of you who are patiently (or impatiently) awaiting your coveted 'Kelly' or 'Birkin', I highly recommend you pick up a copy of 'Luxe' to read during the wait.
'Luxe' is published by le cherche-midi and is available from Amazon's French site. Bonne lecture!
Sincerely,
The Luxe Chronicles
Friday, February 22, 2008
'Luxe' By Hermes' Christian Blanckaert: An Outsider's Inside View Of The Luxury Industry
A Parisian friend who works in the luxury industry recently sent me a copy of 'Luxe', a book written by Christian Blanckaert. Blanckaert is head of Hermes' international division and his book is a collection of brief but insightful observations about Hermes and the luxury industry in general. Blanckaert himself is an interesting figure. He came to Hermes not from a rival luxury brand but rather from Thomson, the French technology and electronics giant. His perspective therefore blends both the access of an insider with the fascination of an outsider who hasn't developed the myopia of those who have known only the luxury industry and nothing else.
The book is worth reading for the many insights it offers on Hermes' way of doing business. Most importantly, it offers a glimpse of those qualities that set Hermes apart from the rest. For instance, faced with a shortage of skilled artisans to meet growing demand for their coveted products, Hermes could easily have taken the route followed by other luxury brands such as shifting from handmade artisanal production to assembly-line production techniques. Hermes could also have opted to outsource production to cheaper overseas markets. Instead, Hermes turned to an economically depressed area of France and set up training programs for the region's unemployed residents thereby creating long term employment and stimulating economic growth for an entire region. Not an obvious choice given the strength of the Euro and the softening economy but an obvious one for Hermes.
What emerges from this collection of musings is the portrait of a company deeply committed to its heritage and willing to place quality and longevity of the Hermes brand above quarterly profits. Sadly, what also emerges is the conclusion that Hermes is in an increasingly lonely category - 'true luxury'. I use the term 'true luxury' because the term 'luxury' alone doesn't really mean anything anymore. Its overuse and misappropriations by marketeers and brands alike have eviscerated any original meaning the term once had. Perhaps this explains why in a world that counts an ever increasing number of 'luxury' brands trying to sell often dubious goods to an ever increasing number of millionaires and billionaires, a two-year waiting list for a Birkin bag suddenly seems perfectly reasonable. So, for those of you who are patiently (or impatiently) awaiting your coveted 'Kelly' or 'Birkin', I highly recommend you pick up a copy of 'Luxe' to read during the wait.
'Luxe' is published by le cherche-midi and is available from Amazon's French site. Bonne lecture!
Sincerely,
The Luxe Chronicles
Very interesting thread !
I guess we all want our part of the good life. This is probabely why "luxury has lost its lustre!" ..... We are too many out there
But still... an Hermes bag gives me the feeling that I own something different. Something almost unique. Something that was made with the help of somebod'y brain. I like the idea of crafpersons who know what they are doing. They are able to make a decision at any step of the making of a bag. They master each step of their job. This is my understanding of luxe ....
This crafperson thing is really important to me. I have handled so many vintage Kelly bags in the 10 last years... After a while of restoring bags ( mainly box leather and crocs), I could feel through the details of the bag, the personality of the craftperson, beyond the bag itself, its color, leather, or condition....Amazing sensation and true revelation of the meanning of HAND MADE/TRUE LUXE !
I guess we all want our part of the good life. This is probabely why "luxury has lost its lustre!" ..... We are too many out there
But still... an Hermes bag gives me the feeling that I own something different. Something almost unique. Something that was made with the help of somebod'y brain. I like the idea of crafpersons who know what they are doing. They are able to make a decision at any step of the making of a bag. They master each step of their job. This is my understanding of luxe ....
This crafperson thing is really important to me. I have handled so many vintage Kelly bags in the 10 last years... After a while of restoring bags ( mainly box leather and crocs), I could feel through the details of the bag, the personality of the craftperson, beyond the bag itself, its color, leather, or condition....Amazing sensation and true revelation of the meanning of HAND MADE/TRUE LUXE !
lisawhit, great article! I also like the term
'true luxury' - as the word 'luxury' itself,
can be watered down to where it loses
all meaning.
'true luxury' - as the word 'luxury' itself,
can be watered down to where it loses
all meaning.
Very interesting thread !
I guess we all want our part of the good life. This is probabely why "luxury has lost its lustre!" ..... We are too many out there
But still... an Hermes bag gives me the feeling that I own something different. Something almost unique. Something that was made with the help of somebod'y brain. I like the idea of crafpersons who know what they are doing. They are able to make a decision at any step of the making of a bag. They master each step of their job. This is my understanding of luxe ....
This crafperson thing is really important to me. I have handled so many vintage Kelly bags in the 10 last years... After a while of restoring bags ( mainly box leather and crocs), I could feel through the details of the bag, the personality of the craftperson, beyond the bag itself, its color, leather, or condition....Amazing sensation and true revelation of the meanning of HAND MADE/TRUE LUXE !
Me too, so well put,
Thankyou for posting that great item lisa
K
kybosh
I agree with several posts here about ex-employee's of Hermes having
negative remarks to make in order to bolster their own business....it's an easy cop-out. I myself
have started working with leather/fabric to make handbags and small leather goods. Quality and
a professional finish using techniques handed down from traditional saddlers is what I try to attain.
I use the correct tools and drive myself crazy with finish, I am so fussy!! Hermes to me is the
embodiment of 'Well Made' (in the traditional sense) items, whether that be saddles or handbags or
for that matter silk scarves. They are the benchmark and inspiration for everything I do.
But, today I was in the Bond st (London) Hermes store on my regular jaunt to see Celine who does
the alterations for all the Hermes stores in England. She has an electric tool used for edging the
leather (the line next to the stitches that gives a nice finished edge and also melts the glue) it's a
french tool of course and unobtainable here as we have no demand (very few saddlers) anyhow, I
did my usual browse through the mens section (I am male by the way ha ha) and my eye happened
upon a very nice looking mens tan Birkin in buffalo which I was told was a weekend bag, no different
from the womens except it was squarer in shape and dare I say it without sounding sexist 'manly'
(important if your a man
Being that this interest is in my line of work I scoured it inside and out
and my heart sank.....The stitching around the handles on the exterior of the bag were fine, but the
stitching on the inside was absolutely terrible..and I mean bad. Irregular, overlapping all over the
place, some stitches were small some much longer. The strange thing is I started to ask myself why
I drive myself crazy trying to achieve perfection with my own saddle stitching if Hermes is doing this
on their £4,000 bag? maybe it's not possible, perhaps this is as good as it gets? Should I just accept
the level of my quality and be glad it does not resemble what is now in front of me?
This experience of mine today shocked me to be honest but I must point out that this is not the case
in the majority of what Hermes produces, usually they are flawless for handmade items. Handmade,
I am well aware, sometimes lends itself beautifully to the odd crooked stitch, it lets you know that it
has been worked on by human hands and eyes, non of us wants the straight stitched perfection of a
machined bag. This does raise the question of whether Hermes is able to maintain quality through
expansion. I left the store feeling decidely depressed.
negative remarks to make in order to bolster their own business....it's an easy cop-out. I myself
have started working with leather/fabric to make handbags and small leather goods. Quality and
a professional finish using techniques handed down from traditional saddlers is what I try to attain.
I use the correct tools and drive myself crazy with finish, I am so fussy!! Hermes to me is the
embodiment of 'Well Made' (in the traditional sense) items, whether that be saddles or handbags or
for that matter silk scarves. They are the benchmark and inspiration for everything I do.
But, today I was in the Bond st (London) Hermes store on my regular jaunt to see Celine who does
the alterations for all the Hermes stores in England. She has an electric tool used for edging the
leather (the line next to the stitches that gives a nice finished edge and also melts the glue) it's a
french tool of course and unobtainable here as we have no demand (very few saddlers) anyhow, I
did my usual browse through the mens section (I am male by the way ha ha) and my eye happened
upon a very nice looking mens tan Birkin in buffalo which I was told was a weekend bag, no different
from the womens except it was squarer in shape and dare I say it without sounding sexist 'manly'
(important if your a man
Being that this interest is in my line of work I scoured it inside and out and my heart sank.....The stitching around the handles on the exterior of the bag were fine, but the
stitching on the inside was absolutely terrible..and I mean bad. Irregular, overlapping all over the
place, some stitches were small some much longer. The strange thing is I started to ask myself why
I drive myself crazy trying to achieve perfection with my own saddle stitching if Hermes is doing this
on their £4,000 bag? maybe it's not possible, perhaps this is as good as it gets? Should I just accept
the level of my quality and be glad it does not resemble what is now in front of me?
This experience of mine today shocked me to be honest but I must point out that this is not the case
in the majority of what Hermes produces, usually they are flawless for handmade items. Handmade,
I am well aware, sometimes lends itself beautifully to the odd crooked stitch, it lets you know that it
has been worked on by human hands and eyes, non of us wants the straight stitched perfection of a
machined bag. This does raise the question of whether Hermes is able to maintain quality through
expansion. I left the store feeling decidely depressed.
"Hermes turned to an economically depressed area of France and set up training programs for the region's unemployed residents thereby creating long term employment and stimulating economic growth for an entire region. Not an obvious choice given the strength of the Euro and the softening economy but an obvious one for Hermes."
This fact alone makes me happy to buy Hermes.
Personally, I have no problem with Hermes' wish to expand and grow their business - it facilitates the brand's survival in a changing world. If they simply decided to quadruple the price of their products - I'm sure that they would still be able to shift quantities - albeit smaller quantities - of Birkins & Kellys to the world's uber-rich. Doing this they would preserve the brand's exclusivity but I wonder how long would this be sustainable??
This fact alone makes me happy to buy Hermes.
Personally, I have no problem with Hermes' wish to expand and grow their business - it facilitates the brand's survival in a changing world. If they simply decided to quadruple the price of their products - I'm sure that they would still be able to shift quantities - albeit smaller quantities - of Birkins & Kellys to the world's uber-rich. Doing this they would preserve the brand's exclusivity but I wonder how long would this be sustainable??