VI
EN
“Hermès Heritage – In Motion” is an exhibition recreating the history of Hermès – one of the world's leading luxury fashion brands – currently taking place at the Temple of Literature (Hanoi). Featuring only about 70 artifacts – creations designed, collected, and preserved by the brand – the exhibition tells viewers a vivid and fascinating story about a world not very familiar to many Vietnamese people.
The Hermès brand was born at a time when contemporary life was becoming increasingly hectic, and people longed for more convenient transportation in a constantly moving and fast-paced world. Hermès products are crafted to meet the needs of that life, whether as accessories for walking, horseback riding, cars, bicycles, skateboards, airplanes, or any other means of transportation, while still maintaining a light, sophisticated, and intelligent style. The exhibition is a testament to this spirit, through artifacts from the Èmile Hermès collection, archives, the Hermès Conservatoire of Creations, and other contemporary creations.
A highlight of the exhibition is the design of five rooms divided into five historical periods of Hermès, advised by Bruno Gaudichon, curator of the "La Piscine" Museum of Art and Industry in Roubaix, and exhibition designer Laurence Fontaine.
The first room in the exhibition contains valuable items that symbolize global fame. Among them, the first Hermès scarf is particularly noteworthy, designed to resemble the game board of an ancient game (Jeu des omnibus et dames blanches).
The second room displays items that Émile Hermès amassed through his curiosity and thirst for discovery. "Émile Hermès' Journey" showcases exquisite objects, from paintings of his favorite childhood rocking horse to 20th-century portable electric kettles… All are items that Émile Hermès collected as a rich memoir of "movement." These artifacts served as inspiration for the creative ideas behind the later designs of the Hermès fashion brand.
The third room is considered an elegant example of movement, containing everything from inventions to advertising images. The main theme emphasizes the urgency of providing comfort and aesthetic beauty. Part of the contemporary collection, the Hermès archives, the Hermès Creative Archives, etc., the objects here all possess historical value.
The fourth room showcases the relentless challenge of inventing tools that seamlessly combine functionality and enjoyable user experience: convenient and beautiful, like the glass cup encased in a leather case or the whisky bottle hidden inside a camera; the Bolide picnic bag inspired by Hermès' Sac pour l'Auto design from the 1920s. All the objects in the room possess a refined and unique quality, creating an interesting highlight for the exhibition.
And finally, the fifth room displays objects with incredibly clever spatial mechanisms: Pippa's writing desk, convenient when opened and compact when folded; a picnic stick with a cutlery set cleverly concealed within its shaft; or the Inversables standing glass cabinet with a glass rack on a movable circular frame, which can be taken onto a ship or yacht and remain stable against the waves.
The exhibition opens up a strange and unique worldview for the vast majority of people who have not had the opportunity to learn more about this luxury brand. Not only famous for Birkin or Kelly bags, what makes Hermès consistent is its endless passion for movement and perfectionism, along with its ability to explore and create the most practical and beautiful items associated with the spirit of travel.
As a rare opportunity to learn about the "behind-the-scenes secrets" of this 182-year-old brand, the exhibition attracted many famous names in the Vietnamese fashion industry such as Ly Qui Khanh, Hoang Ku, Chau Bui, Quynh Anh Shyn, Quang Dai...
The exhibition will be on display until November 3, 2019.
