Hermés honours crafts
This year French luxury goods brand Hermés is paying homage to its artisans who have worked with tireless commitment, passion and expertise to create products that have made the brand what it is.
For 2011’s annual theme of “Contemporary Artisan since 1837,” Hermés sought the talents of French reporter and documentary maker Frédéric Laffont and stylist-journalist Isabelle Dupuey-Chavanat to produce a 45-minute film titled Hearts and Crafts, celebrating the centuries-old skills of the brand’s craftsmen and women.
Hearts and Crafts brings the viewers to all four corners of France, from Paris to Ardennes, from Lyonnais to Lorraine, to showcase the precise, measured techniques applied step-by-step by the devoted men and women who work in the Hermés factories. The film captures the sounds of leather and crystal, the song of silk and metal, the patient dialogue between artisan and skin, the words and on occasion the silence of the workers with candor and obvious pride.
These artisans of all ages, diverse backgrounds and multinational heritages work hand-in-hand, side-by-side in 10 production facilities spread across France. In the leathergoods section alone, there are over 2,000 craftsmen and women involved, from the design to the production of bags, luggage, belts, saddles, gloves, diaries, and other leather goods.
