Written & directed by Frédéric Laffont © Hermès, 2018
Written & directed by Frédéric Laffont © Hermès, 2018
Hermès endeavours to create objects that withstand the test of time and to forge lasting connections with the surrounding world. With curiosity awakened, we navigate between stories and portraits, carried along by gestures and places, and taking discovery to the ends of the earth…
Tokyo, Japan
Kyoto, Japan
After years of research, this technique of silk marbling using a compressed, through-coloured starch paste was rediscovered in Kyoto. The Nose family’s company, Kyoto Marble, is its custodian.
Paris, France
On the fifth floor of 24 Faubourg, Laurent Goblet’s workshop, a saddle-maker at Hermès for forty years, has been turned into a design office.
Sorède, France
Hundreds of inhabitants of Sorède, in the south of France, braided whips and riding crops in hackberry wood until the car and the tractor supplanted the horse. A workshop still works with this strong, supple wood, in an establishment for people with mental disabilities.
Hong Kong
Pushing open the door of one of Hermes' fifteen repair workshops around the world is like entering the lair of magicians. In Hong Kong, on the 22nd floor of a tower where they have placed their tools, Christelle, Farid and Alexandre reserve their best tricks for objects that have lived. Restoring, repairing, such is their trade.
Saint-Ouen and Paris, France
No math class or dictation today. Benjamin, Emmanuelle and Diane, saddlers-marquetry makers, came to the college to share their "pleasure of making and passing on". With these craftsmen, the students discover that one can make one's life by making objects.
London, UK
The Goldfinger Factory spreads out under the Trellick Tower’s 320 metres of concrete. In this underprivileged part of West London, young people become talented apprentices. Recycled wood and metal sheets are transformed into contemporary furniture.
Pantin, France
Recognisable by their trademark white coats, which have earned them the nickname the Blouse Brothers (Blues Brothers!), the Prudhomme brothers, Lionel and André, are supervisors at the Pantin leather workshop. Their skills honed by four decades with the house have given them the status of mentors.
Kongussi, Burkina Faso
In Kongoussi, the Tiipaalga association teaches women how to build these fuel-efficient wood-burning stoves, which are less polluting and improve living conditions.
Alice, London
The English illustrator Alice Shirley interprets and pays tribute to the beauty and wealth of the planet via motifs and prints.
Montbron, France
Montbron, in its picture postcard landscape, was sliding into oblivion. The opening of the leather workshop created over 250 jobs that contributed to the regeneration of this town in the Charentes area of southwestern France. Families are moving back in, and community activities resumed.