Kelly and Birkin

Hermès was founded in 1937 and is still known for its exclusive bags, suitcases, silk scarves and leather goods. Since the 1980s, the company has also offered its own prêt-à-porter line. The success story began with the manufacture of bridles, but the advent of the automobile forced the shop owners to expand the range. In the 1930s, Robert Dumas designed a small travel bag for women, le Petit Sac Haut à Courroies, which initially had little success. But when Princess Gracia Patricia of Monaco wore this bag on the cover of Life magazine in 1956, it became one of the most celebrated products of the company. Since then it has been popular as a Kelly Bag and has become an integral part of every Hermès Second Hand collection. At least as popular is the Birkin Bag, which was first seen in a collection of the fashion house in 1986. Jane Birkin had worked on the design of the bag. To this day, both models are the bestsellers of the house and are available in numerous colours, materials and sizes. The bags are luxury goods – a Birkin is available from a price of 5,750 euros, depending on the model.

Carré Hermès – a silk scarf with tradition

Another component that makes the fashion of the French fashion house what it is, are the printed silk scarves. They have been produced since 1937 and are manufactured in Lyon. Since then, twelve new boiling cloths have been added each year, mostly decorated with motifs of equestrian sports. This gives them a high collector’s value and lovers of vintage fashion love to complete their collection of silk scarves of the house. All scarves are printed by hand and to date there are more than 1000 motifs. The silk scarves are big in fashion and show elegance and style. Hermès second hand shawls are especially sought after, as they show rare prints and are in very good condition. They are also popular to wear or to keep as a collector’s item. The fashion-conscious collector of today does not only wear the Carré around her neck, but ties it in a modern way. It can be worn as a belt in jeans or attached to a handbag. The fashion house has even published its own instructions that explain to customers which wearing options are possible. It is designed in the form of a card game. A similar goal was pursued by the “J’aime mon carré” campaign, in which convinced wearers of the scarf from Paris, London and Tokyo wore their carré as a headband, bag or skirt in the form of a fashion line. Iconic are even the orange-coloured packaging, which in the form of cardboard boxes, shopping bags and hat boxes protect the luxurious garments, scarves, bags and hats. The logo shows a horse-drawn carriage called Le Duc, which the passenger steers independently.

The Prêt-à-porter line of the fashion house

No less popular with lovers of Hermès Vintage is the house’s Prêt-à-porter line. Hermès has been making clothing for men since 1976, while women’s fashion has been available since the 1980s. True fans of the luxury label collect vintage fashion and love to wear the iconic pieces in the collections on a variety of occasions. One of the most famous chief designers is Jean-Paul Gaultier, who has been working for the luxury brand since 2004. From 2011 the former Lacoste designer Christophe Lemaire was responsible for the designs and creations. Since 2014 no one else than the French Nadège Vanhee-Cybulski is responsible for the collections, who once worked for Margiela, Céline and the label The Row of the Olsen twins. No matter if Kelly-Bag, Birkin-Bag, Carré or the Prêt-à-porter collections: Hermès Vintage is coveted by fashion enthusiasts all over the world. Hardly any other fashion house stands so consistently for elegance, timelessness and style, which nevertheless always has its finger on the pulse and is always reinterpreted.

(Fotos: NYgraphic / Shutterstock.com)